


The Right-Hand Man

by NiuNiu



Category: X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Complete, Earth 54910, F/M, Gen, Minor Violence, Non-Sexual Slavery, Not Beta Read, Novel, Slavery, alternative universe, kurtty - Freeform, mentions of abuse, mentions of cannibalism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-02-23 11:48:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 36,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23711020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NiuNiu/pseuds/NiuNiu
Summary: Pryde's gang rules the Northern Africa in a post-apocalyptic world of Earth 54910. Logan arrives from other continent to ask Prydes' help for his sick wife. Pryde herself and her Right-Hand Man Nightcrawler and Left-Hand Man Piotr leave with Logan on a dangerous journey to fetch the needed medicine and to learn more about one another - especially about the half-feral blue mutant and his "Master" Pryde.
Relationships: Kitty Pryde/Kurt Wagner
Comments: 10
Kudos: 4





	1. The One Who Asks

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based on Secret Wars' world Earth 54910 and especially on the character sheets of Nightcrawler and Pryde (Kitty) in that world. The fic will contain some mentions of nasty things and violence, but nothing super graphic from my standards. 
> 
> I can’t write English with Logan’s accent so he’s unnaturally sophisticated here lol. Think him more like the movies Logan.
> 
> Place names are based on Swahili even though I think the story’s location is upper in North in Africa. But this is an alternative universe with alternative rules, so Swahili is spoken wider. 
> 
> Nightcrawler’s broken English which doesn't follow rules (aka he can make a mistake with a sentence he had no mistakes with earlier) is intentional - and oh so familiar to this bilingual writer! Would you spot other mistakes, those are typos Word didn’t note me about as this fic hasn’t been proofread. I will go through this fic as I always spot typos AFTER posting. Author's curse! Chapter lengths are a bit uneven. My apologies for that.
> 
> As this is an au based on the Earth 54910's roles and characteristics, I have taken some author rights with the characters from their canon selves. Please enjoy nevertheless!

Logan had heard about the Pryde group non-stop for the past three weeks he had been on a search for a solution for his problem. If there was anyone who could help her, all the sources he had spoken with had pointed their fingers at the Pryde; go look for them. Go find their leader, also called as Pryde, sometimes as Shadowcat. Go to Old Anchor Town and then a little further into it, all the way to Ditch. From there, you’ll find a yellow stone building, now run down and seen its best days. Request to see Pryde and follow the given instructions.

Logan went through the hasty, badly written notes on his brown piece of paper, frowning as the wind blew sand into his nose and eyes. He was standing on the other side of the said yellow house, judging that this had to be it. Next to the doorframe a big guy leaned against the wall, idling.

Logan had yet to meet a man who would strike fear in him, so he walked without a second thought to the man and stopped right under his nose. The man with a square shaped jaw and short black hair lifted his gaze at Logan. His eyes looked kinder than Logan had expected but he didn’t relax; this man was clearly a mutant. He could smell it.

“I’m here to see Shadowcat,” Logan informed him.

“Why?” the other man asked with a Russian accent. Something Logan hadn’t anticipated to hear in North African coast.

“I have a deal for her. It have some goods for her if she can fulfill my request,” Logan simply replied, crossing his arms and tilting his body so that the man could see his bags around his waist – and hopefully realize that they contained coins and other good this Shadowcat might be interested in.

The Russian man measured Logan slowly from head to toe, stood then up and gestured Logan to follow him further in the building. It was in two floors and smelled like sand, wood smoke and burnt herbs. Inside, there were more mutants; men and women, some children, too. From different races, clearly different parts of the world for sure. They all turned to look at Logan but as they saw him being accompanied by the gigantic Russian, they returned back to their own business. Logan followed the big man from a room to another, until they arrived at a closed door on the other end of the building’s second floor. The Russian man knocked the door twice.

“Who is it?” a female voice asked from the other side.

“Piotr. There’s a man in a leopard’s hide who wants to meet you for business.”

“Let him in,” the same voice replied, and Piotr pushed the door open, allowing Logan to walk in. When he was inside, Piotr simply closed the door and left Logan there like he would have never met Piotr before.

Logan quickly inspected his surroundings to determine just how cautious he needed to be. In the room, there was a wooden desk, an antique looking drawer and s surprisingly massive luxuriously carved wooden canopy bed covered with many colorful pillows. It felt like out of the place in the otherwise simple and modest room. There were hanging plants and big plants in flowerpots, lazily reaching and hanging to every direction they could get their leaves towards to. Dried herbs of multiple different sorts hang on the wall in neat bundles and near them, there was a narrow, circular shaped stove with a teapot on top of it. A classic red Moroccan carpet was laid in the middle of the dark wooden floor. There were two worn soft chairs, a round tea table in between the and some papers piled at a corner on top of a heavy crest. A light barely entered the room through the drapes which had been pulled to shield the room from the hot afternoon sun. The room was small but a lot higher than it looked from the outside. An aroma of sweet incenses filled Logan’s nose.

In front of the drawer a woman in a black skintight worn-down suit with a braided hair adorned with beads was putting fresh herbs together into a firmly bind bundles. She didn’t look at Logan but concentrated on her work.

“What brings you to me?” she asked calmly.

“I have come to ask help from the Pryde for my wife,” Logan replied as nicely as he could, keeping his polite distance to the woman.

Her head perked up. Slowly she turned to face Logan and like he had expected from her voice and figure, she was younger than he had anticipated for a famous group leader. In her mid-twenties max, he guessed. She placed the half-bind buddle down on the drawer’s surface.

“And how can Prydes help you with your wife?” she asked, signing Logan to follow her. She went across the softly creaking floor and took one of the soft chairs, but Logan didn’t trust her just yet. He decided to stand in front of her, still keeping his distance. She clearly didn’t mind Logan’s decision; just crossed her legs and leaned against her palm on the arm rest, looking at Logan with curiosity.

“My wife Mariko got sick and I need to fetch medicine for her from Bustani. It’s the last place where the medicine exists for what I know,” Logan told, crossing his arms. “Of course, I’ll pay.”

“Hmm, a trip to Bustani is a dangerous one for a one man, a mutant or not,” she said softly, staring at Logan knowingly. “I’m not sure if I want to risk my men and women for such a long trip if I don’t hear what you have to offer, Mister Stranger.”

“Logan”, Logan added quickly. His eyes suddenly caught something in the dim room, falling down from the ceiling next to Pryde’s head. His initial thought was a snake based on its shape and movement, and in an instant, he pushed out his claws ready to fight it. But, the second glance revealed a triangle shape – almost like a poisonous snake’s head – and an odd blue color. His eyes traveled along the thing and up to a wooden beam above Pryde where a figure with a pair of yellow eyes stared back at him from the darkness, unblinking.

“Impressive weapons you have, Mr. Logan. Adamantium? That’s super rare nowadays,” the woman spoke calmly. Her hand rose up to the blue tail and she whirled it around her hand and wrist gently. “You can put those away Mr. Logan. This is not a snake but my right-hand man.”

“I—I didn’t…” Logan tried to compose himself, embarrassed and annoyed. The woman watched his embarrassed face with an amusement.

“Everyone always mistakes his tail for a snake. Don’t blame yourself,” she grinned playfully. Logan took another look at the yellow eyes above him. This time the right-hand man blinked slowly.

“Hmmm. I thought I smelled something else underneath all those herbs, incenses and your own natural scent,” he muttered, doing his best not to let his temper get to his head. The woman laughed.

“Oh? You have a good nose, too? That is definitely an asset with those claws and your reaction speed in a trip to Hollow’s. Not to mention you didn’t just slash on and cut off my right-hand man’s poor tail but took another look. Very good, Mr. Logan. I’m interested.” She gestured Logan to sit on the chair next to her. He had to go pass the tail, which somehow creeped him as he couldn’t see the man on the other end of it. The mutant had almost unnatural ability to disappear in the slight shadows of the ceiling. To Logan’s relief, the tail moved away from his way and he heard how the right-hand man walked on the ceiling beam on his fours, until he settled down to sit on the other side of Pryde and dropped his tail for her again. This time she didn’t take it but rubbed it shortly with a mischievous smile directed at Logan.

“Don’t worry about my Nightcrawler, Mr. Logan. He won’t do anything unless I give him an order.”

“Nightcrawler?” Logan repeated his name and tilted his head backwards to see the staring shadow again. “A fitting name.”

“Thanks. I gave it to him myself.”

“So, about my wife and my payment, Miss Pryde” Logan cleared his throat, trying his luck with her name and being relieved when she didn’t react to it in a negative way. “I have money and other assets.”

“Show me,” Pryde leaned closer to Logan and gestured with her hand eagerly. Logan took his pocket belt off and spread pockets’ content on a small round tea table in between them.

“I have 15 cold coins here, 21 copper coins, silver shavings and some salt blocks,” he listed, opening small bags for Pryde to take a look inside. “I have an emergency kit of basic medical supplies which you can have. I don’t need any, I’m a healer type. Hard to kill, too,” he joked.

Pryde was looking at a one cold coin, inspecting it closer in her hand.

“Medical supplies sound awesome,” she said. “Money is slowly losing its power and meaning. It’s hard to buy anything when there’s nothing to be sold, but I won’t say no to your money. You don’t have any alcohol?”

“No, but if that’s the deal breaker, I’ll get it somewhere.”

Pryde’s eyes turned to Logan while her head stayed still. She pursed her lips thoughtfully.

“No, it won’t be. If we find some on the way, we’ll take it with us. Alcohol is such versatile substance. You can sanitize, clean wounds and reward men for their hard work with it. You can help a patient endure pain by getting them so drunk that they sleep after the operation for the next day. You can forget your sorrows for a moment with a sip of some hard stuff. You can buy things with a good bottle. The best currency one can really have these days, isn’t it?”

“Can’t argue that,” Logan replied, unsure if he should have commented something else. The tip of the blue tail next to Pryde’s head sway slowly from side to side, like a cat’s.

Pryde returned the coin back to its leather back, her golden, heavy necklace clinging softly with her movement.

“There’s a one favor I’d like to ask from you, Mr. Logan.”

“Just Logan.”

“Do this favor for me, for Prydes, and I’ll assemble a small team with supplies for you, leading it myself together with my right-hand man. We two are the best you can get. I won’t even need all your coins or salt if you do this favor.”

Logan had no other option than to agree with Pryde’s request if he wished to get help for his journey to Bustani. He listened her briefing, constantly aware of the yellow eyes on him as much as he liked to ignore the unwanted stare and walked then out in the company of Pryde. The right-hand man didn’t follow them.

At the front door of the yellow hideout, Logan turned once more to Pryde. She leaned against the door frame and crossed her arms.

“They won’t be able to link you to us, so this is a big favor,” she told Logan. “I hate when things get dirty like this, but at times like these, you sometimes have to play dirty back. Hit them hard and good when they least expect it. With your multiple handy abilities, this will be nothing but a simple kindergarten trip to you.”

Logan only nodded in an agreement.

“I’ll be back soon,” he promised, earning a small smile from the young group leader.

“I’ll be waiting then.”

When Logan arrived back to the Prydes’ headquarters at dusk, he walked straight to Miss Pryde’s room. Piotr at a weapon table giving a routine maintenance for Prydes’ sword collection in an oil lamp’s light gave Logan a long calm look but didn’t rise up to stop him. Logan knocked at Pryde’s door but after he got no answer for a while, he opened the door quietly.

“Sorry the intrusion. I got what you asked,” he peeked inside, finding the room empty. The setting sun cast its final shadows in the room, together with a few candles. It was quiet. From the bed two eyes stared back at Logan and he recognized the stare.

“Hey, right-hand man. I’m looking for your boss,” Logan said, stepping deeper into the room. This time he was able to see the man partly in the candlelight. The part of his face on the candlelight side was visible, but the shadowy part disappeared into the dimness of the room. He was blue with a dark short hair. Ritual scarring in long lines on his nose and as circles on his cheek were barely visible in the candlelight. He wore a light-colored headband and a simple outfit with V-shaped deep neckline tunic. A beard decoration worn by pharaohs thousands of years earlier stick out from his chin, glistening golden in the candlelight together with his golden stretching earring. His thick tail tapped against the mattress as he was laying on the bed like a big feline on its side, leaning on his elbow.

“So, uh, your boss? Where is she?” Logan tried again but the man didn’t reply. Nor blinked or gestured or emoted in anyway. Just stared at Logan silently.

Logan was confused.

“Okay….” he muttered to himself, looking at the chair where he had sat earlier today. He pointed it out to the right-hand man. “Mind if I sit down?”

Again, the man didn’t react and to Logan it felt like he didn’t even care. It was alarming. If someone didn’t care about a new face it usually meant that they were confident enough to know that they could take the new face, this intruder, down easily. The last thing Logan wanted was to have a fight with this blue man without knowing just how strong he was or what was his mutant ability – but he guessed Nightcrawler had gotten his boss’s Right Hand-title for a good reason. What that reason was, Logan didn’t want to find out, so he walked slowly, very slowly to the chair, eyes locked at the face of the blue mutant. He followed Logan with his eyes but didn’t move.

Logan set a bag from his shoulder down to his feet and took another look at the mutant lolling on the bed casually. Perhaps there was more going on than the right hand-title deal between him and the boss Pryde? He leaned against his thighs and tapped his fingers together.

“So, how’s it going?” Logan tried to joke, easing the tension in the room. There was, unsurprisingly, no reaction from Nightcrawler.

“Can you hear?” he asked, mildly miffed. This time, the right-hand man scoffed through his nose, offended.

The door opened right when Logan was about to share a few words to Nightcrawler about his bratty scoff. Pryde walked in, barefoot and apologizing.

“Piotr said you were back. Sorry, I was outside.” She stopped in the middle of the Moroccan carpet when she noticed Nightcrawler staring at Logan. “Is there something wrong?”

“I tried to chat with your right-hand man, but he doesn’t speak. Is he mute?” Logan replied, ignoring the fact that Pryde had directed her question to Nightcrawler.

“Just half-feral,” Pryde brushed Logan’s question off nonchalantly. “And possibly partly a demon but we don’t know that for sure.”

“Half-feral half-demon?” Logan repeated, surprised. He took another look at Nightcrawler on the bed. I suddenly made sense why he was so calm. Demonic powers were beyond mutant powers and if he was a half-demon like Pryde theorized, he was a worthy opponent even to Logan himself.

Pryde laughed heartily, heading to a big canister.

“Don’t worry. Like I said, he won’t do anything to you unless I tell him to. Half-feral or not, the boss’s word is the law here.”

“And would he decide otherwise?” Logan curiously asked, earning a sharp bark like scoff from Nightcrawler. Pryde turned to her right-hand man.

“I agree, Fuzzy. Quite rude from our guest.”

Logan’s face dropped.

“Fuzzy?”

“He’s got a fur and he’s soft to touch,” Pryde simply shrugged, getting the small tea kettle filled with some water. “You are free to sleep in here. Just go look for Piotr after we have chatted. He’ll show you a place to sleep in.”

Logan decided to ignore the notion that Nightcrawler was so soft to touch that Pryde called him Fuzzy. Neither was he interested in knowing what that all implied about their relationship. Private business better stay private, especially to outsiders. He didn’t miss that Pryde hadn’t answered to his question, but Logan decided to keep his mouth shut.

“It will take a few days to gather everything we need and do some intel before we can leave. I apologize the delay of your plans like this, but this all is essential,” Pryde continued when Logan remained quiet.

“It’s fine”, he lied.

“Know that everyone in the Prydes works. I will get you something to do. Extra pair of hands and muscles are always welcomed,” she said, turning the small gas stove on.

“I’m glad to help.” That was not a lie.

When the tea was done and poured into small Moroccan glasses, Pryde gestured Nightcrawler to come to get his tea. He got up from the bed and for Logan’s surprise, made his way to Pryde on his four in a quick, swift motion.

“He… He really is half-feral…” Logan muttered under his breath. Pryde heard it.

“That’s what I said.”

“How you have gotten a half-feral half-demon as your right-hand man?”

Pryde offered tea glass for Nightcrawler, who took it and sat down at her feet with legs pulled up, back turned to Pryde.

“It’s a long story,” she said, and Logan got the hint.

“So, now when we all have gotten our teas, let me see what you got, Logan.”

Logan opened the backpack he had had with him and pulled out different items.

“This is great!” Pryde’s eyes were glimmering brighter and brighter the more stuff appeared on the floor and on the tiny tea table from Logan’s bag. “I take that your raid went well?”

“No issues.”

“You’ve been such a great help to get our stolen goods back. Now they’ll just think it was some random dude and not one of Prydes. Actually, that’s what happened. You’re not part of my gang.”

“Good for you,” Logan smirked, handing Pryde a bottle of vodka from the bottom of the bag. “And the booze, like wished for.”

Pryde’s eyes widened and then, a gigantic smirk spread on her lips.

“Logan, that is…! Oh, just what we needed!” she gasped clasping her hands together in delight.

Nightcrawler at her feet finished his tea, stretched and curled then to sleep on the floor like a house pet. Logan nodded at his direction.

“He doesn’t seem to appreciate booze the same was as you,” he grinned.

“He’s a rather mellow guy,” Pryde replied, patting his head softly with an open palm and his tail reacted to the pat from his boss. “But I assure you; when he means business, he really means that. Though I hope our trip to Bustani’s will be uneventful, even downright boring, and Nightcrawler will have no need to demonstrate why he exactly has gotten his position right next to me.”

“That sounds like a good travel plan,” Logan kept grinning. Pryde turned to face him with a smile and reached her hand to him.

“Thank you for your help, Logan. You have all my Prydes at your disposal. I will let everyone know that you must be treated like one of us. Respect everyone in return and we’ll have no issues with you.”

“Gotcha,” Logan shook her hand firmly.

They discussed slightly about the upcoming plan before it was time to head to bed. Pryde promised that they’d go together the best plan for the travel tomorrow and reminded Logan to go to seek Piotr for a sleeping spot. When her room’s door shut behind Logan, Pryde turned around and walked back to her chair, picking up the tea glasses from the floor. Nightcrawler’s head rose slowly up to see what Pryde was up to.

“I’m going to bed,” she said, heading to her bed and picked up a worn gigantic shirt from it. “This is all wrinkled! Have you slept on this?”

Nightcrawler didn’t say anything. Just got up and walked in hunched position to look the shirt closer. He sniffed it and Pryde took it up to her nose, too.

“Yeah. Smells like you,” she mumbled, tossing the shirt back on the bed. “Can you blow the candles?”

He did as she had asked for, while Pryde squirmed herself out from her skin-tight black suit and pulled the white shirt reached her mid-thighs over her in the dark room. She pulled hand decorated cover off from the mattress and climbed on the bed among the pillows in the darkness. As she had settled herself in, she felt Nightcrawler crawling on the bed too.

“Come here,” she asked patting the wide bed next to her. He made his way from the bottom of the bed up to her side and laid down pushing his hands under his head. He looked at Pryde keenly.

“What do you think about our new friend?” she asked. Nightcrawler grunted.

“Strong.”

“Yeah. I got the impression, too. Means we don’t have to take many Prydes with us as he’s capable of defending himself. It’s good. The less people traveling, the less supplies we need and the less attention we draw into us.”

“Night bad,” Nightcrawler mumbled. “Sleep inside.”

“Hmm, two tents? Or the big army tent for ten we have got?” Pryde muttered thoughtfully, rubbing her upper lip with her index finger. Her companion didn’t reply anything.

“Salz”, Nightcrawler said in German after a short quietness. Pryde’s eyes widened.

“You are right! We need to take salt with us! I have to check the situation of our salt stock.”

“Nightcrawler go and see,” he offered, getting a small heartful smile back from his boss.

“I’ll leave that for you then. If you think there’s not enough, go fetch some for us, okay?”

He nodded.


	2. Musings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pryde and Nightcrawler discuss of the plan.

Next morning Logan was guided to chop wood and help a group of men with a reconstruction work for the Old Anchor Town’s citizens. He learned that Prydes were appreciated a great deal for doing volunteer work and hunting roaming beasts, which attacked people’s chicken coops and life stock. They also provided meat and kept the way to the seashore clean from muggers and kidnappers.

While Logan was busy with an axe, Pryde was laying on her bed, leaning against a big pile of pillows she had stacked under hear back. She inspected papers in her hands and scribbled something on one of them.

“The quantity of salt is now 35 kilos…” she mumbled, scribbling more. “Did we have the army tent?”

“Broken. Lily sowing,” Nightcrawler replied from a beam above.

“Okay, so we take the two tents then. Lily’s already having her hands full so the tent can wait,” Pryde mumbled, switching to a new set of papers. She went through a notebook with black thin cover. “We really need to get more alcohol. Logan’s haul yesterday was welcomed but it’s not enough. The homebrewer needs to be built as soon as we get more parts….” She fell in her thoughts, comparing papers and notebook to one another, muttering under her breath something inaudible.

“Tee,” Nightcrawler noted in German, and Pryde lifted her head up with a hum.

“Are we running out of tea?”

“No. Tea go with Pryde.”

“Oh yes, we need to take a little bit of it with us. Crushed mint will do this time. We can get more from Bustani when we get there if we run out,” she agreed, back on her paperwork. Nightcrawler inspected Pryde’s notes and papers from the beam with an outstretched neck, tail slowly swaying from side to another.

“Salt,” he repeated his yesterday’s notion and Pryde waved her hand to him, not taking her eyes from the notebook.

“I have it here first on the list. Can you go fetch me Mama’s oil? Tell her I need it as soon as possible if she doesn’t have any in store. Take some of the salt for her for the payment, okay?”

Nightcrawler grunted in approving manner.

“Thanks! Oh, and before you go, if you run into Piotr, ask him to come here please. We need to talk.”

A gigantic buff of purple smoke with a loud bamf-sound appeared on the beam and in a blink of an eye, Nightcrawler was gone, teleported to run Pryde’s errands. A few minutes later there was a knock on Pryde’s door and Piotr stepped in.

“Nightcrawler said you wanted to see me?” he asked.

“Yes, come on in,” Pryde waved her hand to him and out the papers away. Piotr walked to stand in front of the bed’s side where Pryde still sat. She turned to face Piotr fully.

“I don’t know if Logan told you why he’s here----” she began, and Piotr stopped her.

“I do. We talked.”

“Good. I want you to come with him, Nightcrawler and me to Bustani.”

“Anything you say, boss,” Piotr replied without any hesitation.

“How is Sally Flower doing?”

“She’s ready to go and fell fed. If we are not taking much supplied with us that is,” Piotr said and Pryde shook her head, her beads clinging softly against one another.

“We don’t need much stuff. Logan’s a strong mutant with a healing ability. He donated all medical supplies for us and said he’s hard to kill. Just some basic stuff, water mostly, and salt. Sally can carry that.”

“I’ll ask Illyana to get her ready and loaded up as soon as we know when we’re leaving,” Piotr promised with a calm tone. Pryde frowned, crossing her arms.

“Speaking of Illyana…” she muttered, and Piotr already knew what she was after.

“No. She stays here.”

“Her ability to manifest a sword---” Pryde tried again but Piotr stood on his ground, unshakable.

“My sister can manifest a sword but she’s not a fighter for a hoard of monsters yet. I will not risk her and follow you with this one, boss. Sorry. It is a personal family matter. You can have only one of the Rasputins with you and you already asked me.”

Pryde was clearly not happy with Piotr’s stubbornness of the matter but she gave in with a beaten sigh without further pressuring.

“Well, one Rasputin is better than none. Just know that I believe in Illyana a lot. She’s got skills. I can see that, you can see that even if you pretend you don’t. She can be trained. You are coddling her too much, Piotr. She’s not thirteen anymore. Hasn’t been in a decade,” she told him with mildly scolding tone. Piotr didn’t reply to that.

“Anyway, that’s all. Be ready to leave as soon as we have gathered all supplies we need. A few days max,” she said and turned her body back towards her paper and notebook pile scattered over her bed. “Make sure the swords are extra sharp and ask Logan if he needs a one, too.”

Piotr left the room and Pryde concentrated once again on her own task, shuffling through notes and making markings down. Things were looking rather good – at least on the paper - so they might be able to leave a day or two sooner than she had anticipated. Her group had worked well and hard for supplies and headquarters’ maintenance. She didn’t know how long had passed for her forming the best travel plan idea before she could meet Logan like promised yesterday, but she jolted up from her deep concentration when Nightcrawler teleported in with a loud sound. She took a deep breath.

“Geez, you scared me! How was Mama?”

“Good,” he said and walked closer, offering a small wrapped cloth for Pryde. “Mama give two.”

“She didn’t have more?” Pryde sounded disappointed. She took the bag and opened it; indeed, there were just two small bottles.

Nightcrawler shook his head.

“Good grief…!” Pryde complained loudly, shoulders slumping. “It means one bottle to Bustani’s direction and one back.”

“It’s bad. Mama is sorry,” Nightcrawler agreed with her, standing beside her bed. She took a look at the man’s face from her sitting spot.

“It’s not Mama’s fault. She must have run out some ingredients. I’ll tell someone visit her tomorrow and ask what she needs. She’s so stubborn, never asking any help…! Why are old women like that…!” she huffed with a pout. Nightcrawler just blinked and tilted his head but remained quiet. Pryde’s expression returned from sour back to normal quickly.

“Anyway, this is better than nothing. We just….” her words trailed off as she turned to look at the map spread on her bed. “We have to take a shortcut here.”

Nightcrawler bent lower to look at the spot she was pointing from the map. He scoffed.

“Bad place.”

“Really bad place!” she gasped, putting the oil bottle bag aside and leaning over the map. “But it’s the only one we can take if we have only two oil bottles. Other option is here but there’s too much open land. This valley is the best, but we have to cross it as fast as we can. In the worst case, we have to sleep days and rush through it at nighttime.”

“Can’t teleport,” Nightcrawler mumbled, looking apologetic. Pryde patted his shoulder before he straightened his back.

“Yeah, it’s a bit too long distance for you. Can I ask you to take some of the important supplies with you when we go to the valley? In a case something happens, you can teleport the items into safety.”

“Will not leave Pryde,” he answered, frowning.

“I know, I know. That’s why you are my right-hand man. I’m not asking you to leave. Just get supplies into safety if something happens. I would prefer you not to die, though, because then we will lose the supplies – because we don’t know where you took them – and most importantly, I will lose my Nightcrawler,” she smiled at him gently, her hand rubbing gently his lower back above his tail.

Nightcrawler looked like he was thinking something, but whatever it was, he never said it. Instead he just huffed softly:

“Okay.”

“Our horse Sally might be an issue in the valley,” Pryde was back mumbling by herself, nose glued on the map. “She might run off in a commotion and then we have to catch her before something else catches her first…”

“Horse stupid,” Nightcrawler smirked.

“Unfortunately, I have to agree with that, Fuzzy.”

Logan’s face was sour and dark. He leaned on the table they had gathered together with Pryde, her right-hand man Nightcrawler and Piotr, and tapped the table’s surface annoyed.

“So we have two options; to take the longer journey and risk that I can’t return back home to my wife in time, or we take that valley infested with beast, possibly fighting against them the whole night while trying to make progress to get out from the suicide lane alive?” he repeated Pryde’s options, getting a deep hum from Piotr.

“That’s the plan.”

“I still propose we take the risk with the valley. It’s not that long and we should be able to go through it in two nights,” Pryde said, but her face didn’t hide her worry.

“Us going through there and cutting the amount of the beast living there could be beneficial in the long run,” Piotr offered, joking with such a calm face Logan wasn’t sure was that a joke or not.

“Of course, there’s always an option to take a risk and sleep the nights while one of us keeps watch. We have plenty of salt, but we don’t know just how many beasts are there. There’s a very good reason why none of us has stepped into the valley in years,” Pryde explained, pointing again the cursed valley from the map.

Logan pursed his lips, miffed.

“If saving my wife requires me to slay thousands of beasts, I’ll do it.”

“Good. I had a positive feeling you wouldn’t back off with that plan,” Pryde rejoiced. “In that case, we can leave a day after tomorrow. This is the team you’ll get with you, Logan.”

Logan looked around him slowly.

“The big guy is coming, too?” he pointed Piotr with this thumb.

“He’s my left-hand man,” Pryde crossed her arms in confidence. “The less people, the less supplies we need to carry and less possibilities for injuries. I can phase, Nightcrawler can teleport and is overall hard to catch, and Piotr here can turn into a living metal. Then we have you, a healer type of a mutant and as I recall you saying, ‘hard to kill’, so the journey will be safest to do with this group.”

“Hmmm, you remember right,” Logan admitted with a low grunt. Pryde looked directly at his face.

“Is there something bugging you?” she asked, and Logan straightened his back, clearing his throat.

“No. I’m just not happy about that valley trip.”

“None of us is,” Pryde sighed, letting her hands drop down to her sides. “But that’s our only option unless you want to risk your wife.”

“No.”

“I must apologize, though. I thought my oil provider would have better stocks, but she’s run into some issues, the old stubborn lady she is and refuses to ask help even if she was halfway on the other side already,” she continued.

“Sounds like any grandma I know,” Logan said.

“With two small bottles, we either have to go a lot longer journey or take this shortcut. They won’t carry us over the initial route I had in mind,” Pryde sighed, visibly displeased with their current options.

“I can check tomorrow what’s keeping Mama from making enough oils,” Piotr said to Pryde, who smiled back at him.

“Thanks. She likes you anyway so perhaps she tells in all honesty what’s going on and doesn’t try to hide things under a rug for no reason.”

“So, what’s tomorrow’s plan? Besides the big guy here visiting a grandmother?” Logan asked, getting a squinted stare from Piotr – something he ignored.

“I gather last missing stuff and take report in of how things are looking in the next town. There has been some restlessness unfortunately. I sent two fast mutants there to take a look so we know do we have to prepare to just get out of the town as fast as we can or can we make a stop there. It’s a day’s journey anyway when we’re going to Bustani’s direction.”

“What restlessness exactly?” Logan inquired, arms crossing over his chest in a concern.

“Slave poachers,” Piotr replied, his expression dark. “Kidnapping mutants for humans. The usual stuff, you know.”

“Unfortunately, I do,” Logan said, and his eyes traveled to Nightcrawler, who was squatting on a chair a bit further away from the table but still nearby Pryde. She noticed Logan’s look and turned to take a look at Nightcrawler over her shoulder.

“Yeah. Four mutants to catch, one so visibly mutated that it will draw all slave poachers to us,” she muttered.

Nightcrawler didn’t say anything. Just cocked his eyebrow in a knowing way.

“Sorry, no offence with that,” Pryde told him and he whipped his tail softly, remaining silent.

“We would fetch some good money for a slave trader if getting captured. Especially he,” Logan pointed at Nightcrawler. He growled at him with a wrinkled nose.

“Yeah, he would be a catch but only over my dead body,” Pryde agreed and to her Nightcrawler didn’t growl. Quite opposite; his gaze turned to Pryde and immediately softened. “And I’m planning not to get anyone killed on this trip, so that’s why the team will be just us four: My two best men and almost an immortal client. If you were any weaker, Logan, I’d take more people in with us. I’m glad I don’t have to do that.”

As the plan was done and agreed upon, everyone scattered to their own directions, except for Nightcrawler, who stayed in Pryde’s room. Logan looked behind him at Pryde’s door and turned then to look up at the much taller Piotr.

“Is he always there?” he asked, curious.

“Nightcrawler can come and go freely as he wishes. Stay and leave as he wishes. That’s a benefit of a right-hand and left-hand men.”

“But you are not there?” Logan noted, earning a small smirk from Piotr.

“She prefers her privacy but Nightcrawler is an exception. She has taken really good care of him ever since he joined us. If you want to know more about him, you need to speak with Pryde.”

“What? Is he like a pet?” Logan asked, boggled, and scoffed at the thought. “That rubs me the wrong way. It’s no different from slavery to keep another human being as a pet.”

“She has no pets,” Piotr simply replied, a bit annoyed. “Ask more questions from her when we travel. It’s going to take some time and we need to kill time while walking so that we don’t get overly bored.”

“Is he mentally retarded?” Logan continued his questioning and this time Piotr stopped abruptly and turned to Logan, eyes narrowed.

“It’s bad habit to call people retarded. Don’t say that around here and especially not around Miss Pryde. She’ll have your teeth cracked down to your throat,” he grunted and walked then away, leaving Logan to stand on the hallway by himself.

\-------------------

”There’s not much water for today, so we have to share it,” Pryde spoke to Nightcrawler, standing in a small green tiled bathroom which was connected to the back of her own room. Nightcrawler was squatting next to her, humming.

“Is it okay to you? I can wait for the next delivery from the sea. It should arrive in three days.”

He looked up to her and hummed.

“Bath,” he said with a firm nod and pointed at Pryde. “Stink.”

“I---! Oh, how rude of you!” she gasped, getting a laugh out from Nightcrawler. “You are one to speak!”

“Bath”, he repeated with a grin and pointed his own chest. “Share.”

“Alright, we share the water. Sorry. This happens for a third time…! My head has been so full of other things I have forgotten to order more bathwater…” Pryde scolded herself with a defeated tone, shoulders falling down. “Let me warm the water for us.”

“I do,” Nightcrawler said standing up. He took a hold of Pryde’s shoulders, turned her around and ushered her out from the bathroom. “Be right back.”

She laughed, allowing herself to be pushed out from the bathroom. Nightcrawler teleported to get the water warmed and Pryde could hear him doing his teleportation rounds a few times as he fetched a big canister after another. She sat down in his chair to wait, sighing with a small smile. If she was honest with herself, at first, she had been unhappy with this all. It was her job to look after her team and also herself, and she had let the sea water supply run too low. Now, when she thought about this the second time, she was quite pleased and happy. It was not the first time for her to bathe together with Nightcrawler. It was always a pleasure to have a bath with him, but so far, she didn’t feel like it would be okay just to ask him to bathe with her like that. It was… too casual. Too unsure. He was so eager to please. She wouldn’t ever want to use that against him and for her own gain, and at this point it was still unsure if he’d accept her bath request because he wanted or because his boss said so.

She didn’t remember dozing off when Nightcrawler woke her up with a gentle shake.

“Bath time,” he said softly.

“Thank you,” Pryde replied and yawned loudly.

“Pryde sleep?”

“Not yet. After the bath. It’s been too long since the last time.”

“Stink,” he repeated again with a grin. Pryde slapped his lower arm with a huff.

“Not for long!”

She got up from her seat and headed for the bathroom, Nightcrawler at her heels. She undressed herself by phasing out from her suit, letting it drop on the tiled bathroom floor and got into the water. It was a bit too hot for the first contact but that’s how she preferred it. That way it stayed warm longer. It stung her skin nicely. Nightcrawler shuffled himself out from his V-shaped tunic, headband and underwear and joined her in the bath, lowering himself slowly in the water.

“Is it too hot?” she asked, watching him. He was as beautiful as always, even with his scars.

“Little,” he mumbled but sat down, pulling his knees up. His tail hung over the edge of the bathtub for some cooling effect.

Pryde leaned back as much as she could in the tub and sighed, spreading her arms on the sides of the bathtub.

“I’m really nervous of the upcoming trip, Fuzzy,” she said with closed eyes. “It’s… I just hope we don’t run into many issues and survive the valley. We have to go through it twice….”

“Nightcrawler protect,” Nightcrawler promised and Pryde opened her eyes, smiling tenderly.

“I know you will. That’s why you are my right-hand man, Fuzzy.”

He didn’t say anything. Just stared at Pryde calmly. She touched his leg with her feet.

“It’s risky to take both you and Piotr with me. Would something happen to all of us, Prydes will be left without a leader and they will lose their two best men. But, it’s a possibility I have to think about. I need to talk tomorrow with you and Piotr again, officially, but tell me; who I should name as the 4th in command, to take the lead of Prydes, if something happens to all of us?”

“Logan,” Nightcrawler replied without hesitation, surprising Pryde. She laughed at him, delighted.

“Can’t disagree with that. He’s probably as strong as me and Piotr combined. I hope. But I suspect he’d want to take this group under his wing. He’s got a wife at home he needs to tend.”

“Wife come here?” he grinned, head tilting.

“Hmm, that’s a possible scenario, but perhaps a bit too farfetched for us now. We don’t even know how far he traveled to us,” she smiled at him with her eyes, touching his leg again with het foot a few times. “Seriously speaking, Nightcrawler; who should I name? I know you keep eyes on everyone without them realizing you are there. You know more than you tell anyone, me included.”

“No hiding!” Nightcrawler hastily barked, shaking his head so fast the bead string on his right side of a head swayed uncontrollably.

“No, no, I didn’t mean that you’d ne hiding things from me. Sorry, I worded it wrong,” Pryde apologized as hastily as Nightcrawler had barked at her. “Just based on the information and knowledge you have got, who would you name as a new leader?”

“Many leaders, many followers,” he muttered thoughtfully, leaning back against the edge of the old bathtub. His tail tapped against the bathtub’s side. “Nightcrawler like Illyana. Betsy good girl.”

“Piotr will try to behead me if I suggest Illyana, but I must agree with you. She’d be a good leader but still perhaps… How can I say it? She needs a right-hand man of her own who can support her as much as she needs it,” Pryde mumbled, drawing absently shapes on the water with her fingers.

“Betsy,” Nightcrawler nodded towards Pryde, looking determined.

Pryde pressed her lips together.

“Her right-hand? I could see that work.”

“Mercer good,” he offered, gesturing vaguely his hand in the air.

Pryde pursed her lips and hummed approvingly.

“He is. He lacks a bit of strategic thinking, but a good right-hand man could help him with that. A leader doesn’t need to be able to do everything by themselves.”

“No. Illyana, Betsy, Mercer,” she got corrected by Nightcrawler.

“Three leaders? Hmm, why not? I have you and Piotr so it makes three,” Pryde shrugged, reaching then to pat Nightcrawler’s knee. “Good choices.”

Nightcrawler smiled, looking pleased to himself. He usually came with, what the rest of the Prydes liked to call, a resting bitch-face, but his smiles appeared easily when he was left alone with Pryde herself. Pryde couldn’t say that she wouldn’t have noticed that, how differently he behaved when they were left alone knowing no one would bark in the room and disturb them. His expression softened and melted into more relaxed one as they soaked in the bath together. Pryde pointed the soap bar next to his head.

“Now that we have talked some business: One soap, please,” she smiled, her hand outstretched to Nightcrawler. He snatched the soap with his tail and handed it over to Pryde.

“I’m sorry again for this,” she sighed, rubbing the soap between her palms underwater. “I completely forgot our water supplies.”

“It is okay,” he simply said.

“Is this the only soap we have here?” she asked, looking around. He also looked around the bathroom, grunting when neither one of them saw any extra piece of soap.

“This is almost finished so I need to get a new one,” Pryde muttered, inspecting the thinned bar in her hold. She tried to cut it in half, but in vain. Nightcrawler saw her struggling with the soap, so he took it from her and snapped it in half with effortless bend. Then, he gave both of the halves to Pryde but she took only one of them, telling him the other half was meant for him.

“Your hair looks like it needs a proper scrubbing,” she grinned at Nightcrawler, who smirked with the corner of his mouth and went then to rub the moist soap all around his short hair. Pryde concentrated on washing herself. They bathed in a silence, the water getting soapier and dirtier by each passing scrub, rub and lathering.

“Can I wash your back?” Pryde asked when she noticed Nightcrawler had almost completely cleaned himself. It wasn’t that his long arms – a bit too long for the rest of his body – wouldn’t have allowed him to wash himself fully. It was just that Pryde wanted to keep their bond good, keep the earned trust and keep reminding this half-feral mutant that she was his ally. Now and always.

He stopped lathering his lower leg and blinked at Pryde with a puzzled look.

“If you don’t want to be touched…” she quickly added, remembering what a struggle it had been to teach Nightcrawler that it was safe to turn his back to her. Especially when being unarmed. And especially when being naked and vulnerable, wet from head to toe.

He grunted softly from his throat and handed his soap for Pryde.

“Good Nightcrawler,” she complimented him. “Don’t slip, okay?”

He nodded, stood up and turned around, sinking back in the water on his knees. Pryde stumbled up on her knees, too, to reach his upper back.

“Your fur is looking so much better than when we first met,” she complimented him a bit more, starting to lather his shoulders. “I will soap your neck, too. Don’t get spooked.”

His tail curled around her waist and she patted his shoulder blade with her free arm.

“I know, I know. You don’t like to be touched on your right side. Don’t worry, I’ll wash it right now, unless you want to do it yourself?”

“No, Pryde do. Hasty,” he replied, his voice wavering.

She scrubbed his fur clean from the right side over his rib cage as fast as she could without leaving dirt on him. It had been two years now, but she still didn’t know why Nightcrawler was sensitive about his right side. Giving his past, it was probably something Pryde didn’t even want to know. He had allowed her to examine his ribs and muscles for injuries – after a long, tiring struggle and fight of wills which went on a few days – but she hadn’t found anything alarming. That’s why Pryde had come into a conclusion his watchfulness on that specific body area was trauma based, as Nightcrawler kept disliking anyone coming too near his right side. His tail being tightly wrapped around her waist was another sign that he was unsure and a bit afraid but trusted her enough to let her do this cleaning.

When she was done, she patted his left shoulder.

“All done. You did well! I won’t be touching that side anymore, okay? It’s nice and kind of you that you let me look after your fur. It keeps you healthy and clean, and it won’t itch so much when we get all the dust and sand away, right?”

Nightcrawler hummed with a nod but didn’t say anything. She washed rest of his back and his left side. When she said she was done he eased his tail’s hold on her. Pryde made a mental note that they would need to train more backwashing and overall touching with Nightcrawler when he was in a vulnerable situation, so that he could let go of the rest of the whatever remaining fears he had within him. She needed to schedule more time for him, perhaps set a special training schedule for it.

“Can you wash my back? Like the other time?” she asked, watching how his tail retreated from her. He turned to look over his shoulders, thinking a moment, then nodding.

“Thank you. Here,” smiling Pryde gave Nightcrawler her own soap and got up, turning around on her knees back to him. “Know that you are the only person in this whole country who can see me naked and wash my back. I trust you. You are a good mutant. Good Nightcrawler.” She hoped that this gesture would help Nightcrawler to see that she dared to be vulnerable around him, and it meant she truly trusted him.

“When we get the water plumping fixed, we can take more baths,” Pryde spoke over her shoulder to Nightcrawler. “And, we don’t have to share water every time, though bathing together does reduce waste.”

Nightcrawler listened to her quietly, washing her back in a wiping motion. He grunted when he was happy with his work and Pryde turned to look at him over her shoulder.

“Thank you for your help, Fuzzy.”

He blinked at her a few times calmly but didn’t say anything. She got up from the bathtub and immediately Nightcrawler was standing outside the tub, too. She reached for her towel and wrapped it around herself.

“It’s okay. You can remain in the bath if you wish. I will get ready for bed.”

“Nightcrawler come, too.”

“Sure. Shall I dry your hair?”


	3. Epesi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang arrives to Epesi and ran into familiar faces for a shelter.

Next day Pryde met with Piotr and Nightcrawler like she had planned to discuss what would happen to Prydes if none of them returned back from accompanying Logan. With a sour face, Piotr agreed that Illyana should be named as the next leader, but he made a stern notion that he’d return back even if he needed to be carried half-broken in a box. Later the day, while everyone was working on whatever projects they had, Pryde met with the patrols who had returned earlier the same day. They brought good news; things were looking kind of alright in the city. Well, as alright as they could look in a post-apocalyptic world. She ordered Piotr, Logan and Nightcrawler to go come with her into one of the big craft rooms after evening’s dinner. Nightcrawler was still sucking on a chicken bone when the meeting started and as Pryde didn’t seem to care about it, Logan kept his mouth shut, too.

“As I said, we’ll leave tomorrow at the dawn. News from Epesi are rather good so we should be able to stay there for the night. After Epesi, we’ll head to Weusi. That’s a one-day trip, too. Between Weusi and the valley is Lil’ Acacia Tree; a resting place for those who head towards west. The distance between Weusi and Lil’ Acacia Tree is very short, so I suggest we stop at Lil’ Acacia to prepare ourselves for the run through the valley,” Pryde explained, hovering over the map.

“It’s a solid plan,” Piotr agreed.

“I don’t know this area, so I trust your judgement,” Logan said.

“After we hopefully survive the valley alive with all our limps intact and our horse still with us, we take a rest at Dogo Bustani. Unfortunately, Dogo Bustani is rather far away from the valley to protect its inhabitants, so we have to stretch ourselves after the valley horrors to get to Dogo Bustani,” Pryde frowned deeply.

“And the good news? Hopefully there are some?” Logan asked, following Prydes finger on the map as she drew a line from Dogo Bustani to a next round spot.

“This is Bustani. Your destination, Logan. We’ll get your wife the medicine you need, restock our supplies and rest. God, we really need to rest when we get to Bustani. At least for one night or one full day, depending of in what condition we are by the time we reach our destination.” Then, she straightened her back and took a look of all the three men with a serious stare in her brown eyes. “Would any of us be hurt by the time we reach Bustani – Logan excluded – that person will be left behind to recover. We’ll fetch the person left behind with another team, which reaches Bustani from the route I originally planned or, if we can’t get more Mama’s oil, via the longest route.”

A heavy silence fell into the room. Logan’s eyes turned to Nightcrawler, who also turned his attention to Logan. Logan opened his lips to speak but Pryde’s up-lifted hand stopped her.

“That includes Nightcrawler, though if he needs to stay behind, I will stay, too. You two have to get back here by yourself and Piotr will arrange a group to fetch me and ‘Crawler when he returns to our headquarters. We can take only so much stocks with us and I suspect whatever money we have with us, if Nightcrawler gets hurt, getting a roof over our heads and whatever possible medication will drain the finances so that I won’t have money to resupply us for a return trip.”

“You think you’d be enough to keep him protected?” Logan mumbled. “I don’t like that deal.”

“This trip has its risks but that’s just life,” Pryde shrugged nonchalantly. “Nightcrawler has gotten my word of protection so I plan to keep it.”

Nightcrawler looked a bit bothered and he huffed and scoffed something inaudible, shifting in his seat.

“And if you get hurt?” Logan inquired, pointing his finger at Pryde.

“I’ll stay in Bustani.”

“Nightcrawler stay,” Nightcrawler said sharply, lifting his head up and pushing his shoulders back.

“I think you should go with the guys,” Pryde spoke to him with a steady voice. Nightcrawler didn’t have it.

“Stay!” he barked with fangs flashing.

“Seems that if either one of you gets hurt, we’ll lose two team members from home trip,” Logan muttered rather sourly. “If that’s how it is, then we just have to keep both of you in one piece, right?”

“I’d prefer that with all of us,” Piotr mumbled hands behind his wide back.

Pryde ended their meeting with a clad of her hands.

“So, this settles it all. I wish you men good night. We’ll leave tomorrow as soon as we can see the first inklings of the sun rise. And one word, Logan, before we go;” Pryde lifted her index finger up in the air, giving a Logan a stern stare. “Don’t touch Nightcrawler or spook him. He doesn’t like that.”

“I have absolutely no interest for that,” Logan promised.

Their very first day took them, as anticipated, to Epesi by the time the sun was almost gone. Everyone was relieved when they made it behind the walls of Epesi without needing to face of the beasts that came out at nighttime. Pryde was leading the four of them, Sally Flower following them in Piotr’s firm grasp, through the busy streets of Epesi. Logan was impressed.

“People are outside even when the night is slowly arriving,” he marveled, following with his gaze a group of young men and women making their way through the same street, to the direction where Pryde’s team was coming from.

“This is a well-guarded city. Unfortunately, it has its downsides, too. I’ll tell you more when we can sit down and rest out feet,” Pryde replied without looking Logan behind her. He got the hint; it was better to speak without too many ears around.

“Pryde knows someone in this city. She’ll take us in,” Piotr told Logan. “Do you think she has a place for Sally, Pryde?”

“Let’s hope so.”

They continued their journey deeper into the city. It was surprisingly well lit, and many booths had different items and food for purchasing. It looked like a rich small place. Their traveling ended in a front of a stone house in three levels. Pryde turned to speak to Nightcrawler.

“I have a command for you; whatever happens inside the house, don’t slash out. Teleport away if you must, but no hurting anyone, okay? No showing teeth or growling either.”

Nightcrawler nodded without disagreements.

“Do we need to watch how we behave?” Logan asked, concerned. Pryde smiled at her.

“No. Be at ease. This will a bit difficult place for him, but he behaves when I ask him to do so. This is also the safest place for him, so that’s why we’re staying here. Not to mention it’s a lot cheaper than in an inn,” she explained, taking again a look at Nightcrawler, who had stopped to squat at her feet. “Please, wait here, all of you. I’ll go meet my friend and ask if there’s a space for us to stay in this night.”

The men stayed behind as Pryde approached the house and knocked the door. A loud roar of children came from the other side of the door and Pryde opened the door, excusing herself in. Logan could see four kids at the door, from ages six to fourteen, he assumed. The door closed and the men waited for a few minutes until Pryde returned, together with a woman with a flowy, blond hair and a face like fairy queen’s.

“Boys, this Meggan, my old friend. We can stay in,” Pryde smiled, her hand on Meggan’s shoulder.

“Please, come on in,” she chirped happily, her eyes catching Nightcrawler. She gasped, hand rising up to her mouth. “Oh my! Is this the half-feral guy you wrote me about?”

“Yes. He’ll behave. Might not really like the hassle and the noise the kids are making so if you could show us a place where he can retreat if everything gets overwhelming, Nightcrawler and I’d be very thankful.”

“Of course!” Meggan replied, coming out from the doorframe to shake Logan’s hand, taking him by surprise. “Nice to meet you. I’m Meggan.”

“Logan”, he muttered, marveling the strength of the woman’s handshake.

She introduced herself to Piotr the same way and offered then her hand to Nightcrawler.

“Don’t be afraid, my friend. My name is Meggan. And you are?” she said. To the men’s surprise, she transformed into a blue woman with yellow eyes, matching Nightcrawler’s look. Nightcrawler looked unsure, measuring her a second before he took her hand sloppily, still unsure.

“Nightcrawler.”

“Welcome, all of you!” Meggan encouraged everyone with a biggest smile ever and returned back to her normal looks. “I will take Sally to backyard. That’s the safest place for her.”

“How… How did you know the horse’s name?” Logan asked. Meggan smiled at him with her eyes.

“She told me.”

“We have to unpack her load, so we’ll come with you,” Pryde said, gesturing the men following her. When Sally had been taken care of and placed in a safe space to sleep in, they went inside the house with Meggan’s lead. When entered the house, they came across with more children. Everything from a few year-old ones to teenagers. Eyes staring at the strange new people from every corner and doorframe and chair.

“My oldest children are hunting together with Brian,” Meggan said.

“We’ll cover our own food. We just need a place to sleep in and some water for Sally,” Pryde quickly replied. Meggan shook her head.

“Oh no! There’s never too little not to share.”

“At least take this,” Pryde insisted, fishing a coin from her yellow hooded tunic. “I insist.”

“I’ll go get us something to eat,” Logan cut in, brows burrowing. “I’d hate to take bread out from children’s mouth.”

Before anyone could resist, Logan was gone. Meggan stared after him and turned then to Pryde with a questionable look.

“Your new friend is very hasty and quick in his actions.”

“He’s my client. We’re going to Bustani.”

“What? Through here?” Meggan asked, taking a look at Piotr and Nightcrawler, too. “All four of you?”

“Yes. Unfortunate circumstances. But that’s enough for work talk! Tell me how you are Brian had been?” Pryde replied, smiling at the end of her sentence.

As the children saw Meggan relaxing with these new people, they relaxed, too. They kept their curious distance to Nightcrawler, who was huddled near Pryde, looking around like being cautious of which one of the children would stick their tiny hands on him. Meggan noticed this.

“Oh, I forgot to show you your room. My apologies. Children, that is mister Nightcrawler. No touching strangers or anyone without their permission, even if they’d have a funny looking tail you’d like to play with. If you want to pet something, there’s a horse outside. Go say hi to her.”

With the information that there was a horse outside majority of the children ran out from the backdoor, happy gasps and squeals echoing from the backyard.

“Come with me, Nightcrawler,” Pryde offered her hand to Nightcrawler, who took it and stood up, eyeing the remaining children, shoulders hunched. Pryde kept holding his hand. “You remember what I told you?”

“Yes,” he croaked.

“I’m sorry, he’s not good with strangers or with loud noises and quick movements in strange places,” Pryde apologized Meggan, who only waved her hand.

“It’s fine. There’s never any quiet or dull moment when you are fostering 45 children,” Meggan laughed warmly, but there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. Pryde pretended she didn’t see it. Instead, she directed her attention to Piotr.

“Piotr, please, can you keep the children on eye so that they don’t overwhelm Sally and no one eats them while they are out?”

He nodded and went out, despite Meggan telling that the children and Sally were perfectly safe, as the whole area was surrounded with salt. Pryde looked at Meggan with a concern.

“45? Last time there were ten less?”

“Well, lots of thing have happened in a year,” Meggan sighed rather gloomily, gesturing Pryde and Nightcrawler to follow her upstairs. She took a candle with her. “Slave poachers steal mutants here. Especially young mothers and single parents. Some get killed with diseases at times. What happens to the children, it doesn’t concern anyone. Everyone wants to have adult mutant slaves and the children… I don’t want to speak out what happens to them. There are some horrible rumors besides the old stuff, which I don’t even dare to speak in this house…”

She let Pryde and Nightcrawler to the highest floor, opening a door to a tiny room. It looked like an attic storage space with a wooden creaky floor and a small square window with no curtains. It smelled like dust.

“We don’t have much space but if this is okay to you---” she began and Pryde cut her off.

“It works fine. We have our own sleeping gears.”

“Good. I’ll ask Brian to get you one oil lamp. I can’t remember where he’s stocked them.”

“Nightcrawler; you can come here if the children are too much for you to handle,” Pryde instructed Nightcrawler, still holding his hand. He looked at her slowly and grunted then as a sign of approval. Meggan was eyeing him with a motherly concern.

“I’m so sorry for whatever happened to you, Nightcrawler.”

Nightcrawler averted his eyes away from Meggan, squeezing in secrecy Pryde’s hand.

“He has progressed very well, but some things are still a bit too much,” Pryde complimented him, earning a small confident smile from him. She squeezed his hand back; “You are doing so well!”

To that, he smiled more openly, stealing a tender glance from Pryde.

They returned back to downstairs, Nightcrawler still holding Pryde’s hand, arriving to the main room when Brian and four older children came back home. They barked in the front door just when Meggan, Pryde and Nightcrawler were crossing it. Brian looked at Nightcrawler first, puzzled, eyes widening, until he saw Pryde and smiled.

“Pryde! You bastard!” Brian grinned, coming closer to pat her on the shoulder. Nightcrawler let go of Pryde’s hand and took a step back from Brian. “I haven’t seen you in ages, Pryde! You always somehow manage to sneak here to Meggan when I’m not home. What brings you here?”

“I’m escorting a client and need a place to sleep for this night,” she replied. Brian turned to look at Nightcrawler.

“Him?”

“No, he’s my right-hand man,” she shrugged. “I have Piotr with me. You remember him?”

“Oh yes. He’s got a strong right arm.”

“Darling, no arm wrestling with Piotr tonight. They all need to save their strength for the trip. They’re heading to Bustani through here,” Meggan scolded her husband, ushering the oldest hunting companion children with a cleaned deer carcass pieces to take them further into the kitchen.

Brian’s jaw dropped.

“Bustani?! But, that’s pretty much a suicide. What in the good Hell makes you think crossing the valley is a good idea?”

“We’re in a hurry and out of supplies,” Pryde simply answered, not feeling like explaining everything to Brian. Brian snorted, half-amused, half in shock.

“I hope your client stays alive.”

“I have high hopes for that,” Pryde smiled. “He’s a powerful mutant. Seems to have adamantium in him and by his own words, he’s hard to kill. He gave his all medical supplies to us as a payment because he can heal himself. Sure, he’s half of your size but size doesn’t matter.”

“It surely doesn’t,” Meggan cracked a joke.

Some of the smaller children had wandered around Nightcrawler’s legs and he stared at the small humans. Some of them found his tail and grabbed it, making Nightcrawler jolt slightly but enough for Meggan to notice it.

“Darling! What did I say about touching the tail?” she huffed and buffed, picking the little curious rascal up to her arms.

“He’s a bit jumpy for a right-hand man…” Brian muttered, measuring Nightcrawler under his eyebrows. Pryde scoffed at Brian.

“Nightcrawler doesn’t like touching. Try it with your own risk. He’s not biting the kids because I forbit it but it’s the best for all of us if you just leave my Nightcrawler be.”

“What, he’s a beast?” Brian asked, crossing his arms on his hips. Nightcrawler wrinkled his nose at Brian but didn’t bare his teeth, just like he had promised to Pryde.

“Half-feral. It’s a long story. Too long for this night,” Pryde replied looking at Nightcrawler. She petted his shoulder. “It’s fine. They are just children. Small human cubs.”

“As long as he doesn’t eat any of the kids,” Brian joked but Pryde didn’t take it well.

“He won’t” she muttered with an icy tone, eyes drilling on Brian. He cleared his throat, quickly dropping the subject from poking too much into it.

“So, uh, where’s the client?”

“He went out to get some food. He’ll be back. It’s only fair we pay for our stay now when there are four of us. I heard from Meggan you got more kids.”

“Oh, we did. Unfortunate little monkeys,” Brian sighed, gesturing Pryde and Nightcrawler to follow him to the main room with Meggan and some of the children. “Shall we wait for Pryde’s client’s return before we make dinner, dear?”

“Yes, it works for me. I have bread for the small ones while we wait.”

“Logan should be back soon. The client, I mean,” Pryde hastily added. “We’ll help with preparations.”

Like Logan would have telepathically heard his name being mentioned, the back door opened and together with a flow of children, Logan walked in, carrying heavy bags on his back.

“Here you go. Some compensation for our stay,” he said and slowly put down on the floor two sacks of flour and potato sack. 

“You must be the client Pryde mentioned. Thank you, this is more than enough,” Brian said and shook Logan’s hand. “Call me Brian. I’m Meggan’s husband.”

“Logan. Sorry to bother you and your wife like this.”

Piotr followed inside with rest of the children. Piotr grinned at Brian and both the men proceed to hug, patting each other’s backs. The kids scattered here and there to do their own things while adults settled to prepare dinner for everyone.

They stayed the evening cooking and eating. Pryde, Meggan, Brian and Piotr caught up the news here and there, while Logan told news outside their usual circles. Nightcrawler had withdrawn to sit on top of a cupboard, where he watched everyone with his piece of dry bread but didn’t participate in the conversations. When pleasantries were over and majority of the children had fell asleep, Meggan offered everyone a chance to wash their faces and feet before going to bed. Brian returned from shed with an extra oil lamp and gave it to Pryde. The four travelers withdrew to their tiny room to sleep with their sleeping gears. Piotr had to hunch over not to hit his head on the ceiling.

“I don’t mind. We’re going to be on vertical positions here anyway,” he said to Logan who had an amused smirk on his lips.

Pryde spread her thin sleeping mattress next to the wall under the small window with help from Nightcrawler.

“This night no one needs to keep any watch, so sleep as soundly and well as you can,” she advised the men. “Piotr doesn’t need to sleep in his Colossus form but I’m not really up to ask you to keep watch every night, Piotr.”

“I appreciate it, boss,” Piotr nodded his head, uncomfortably struggling to get his own sleeping mattress spread on the floor. Logan, on the other hand, was already on his own mattress, leaning against his elbow and watching Pryde settling down on her mattress, Nightcrawler finding his own place next between Logan and Pryde.

“So, now that we have rested out feet, what’s the business in this city?” Logan asked, watching how Pryde’s shoulder slumped with a deep, deep sigh.

“The slave poachers. Keep the city safe as they have tons of money because of the slave markets. So, while things are looking alright now, we have to be careful when we leave tomorrow. Someone might follow us,” she explained.

“But this orphanage can stay off-limits?” Logan gestured the walls around them. Pryde shrugged.

“They had a few face offs with Brian and Meggan. Wouldn’t recommend that. They are both powerful mutants and look after citizens, too. They try to keep their distance to the slave poachers as well as possible, but they are territorial over their home and the kids they foster. If you want more details, you need to go to speak with Brian while he’s still awake.”

“Too much information can be lethal,” Logan just muttered with a sign-song tone.

“Good. I had a feeling you’d be more than capable of traveling with us,” Pryde complimented him. A big yawn escaped from her mouth. “Now, if you excuse me, I’m going to doze off at any moment. That meal was so good.”

She fell to sleep on her side, face to the wall and pulled a thin cover over herself. In a few minutes, the whole room was asleep.


	4. Weusi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang continues their journey to Weusi, the town of hunters.

Logan smelled them before anyone else. He hastened his steps as discreetly as he was able to to catch up with Pryde, who was leading the team with Sally in her hold toward Weusi.

“We have company,” Logan whispered to Pryde. She gave him a side glance without alerting the followers that they knew. She grunted.

“I noticed. I suspected that could happen when we leave Epesi. Can you tell how many without looking behind us?”

“Six,” Logan mumbled back a reply. “Most likely heavily armed.”

Pryde’s lifted her chin, lips pressing together tightly. Logan grinned.

“They must have smelled this oil on us,” he joked, showing is oiled wrists to Pryde.

“Unfortunately, that stinky oil won’t protect us against slave poachers who think that catching a fine blue furred mutant will fetch them a good money,” Pryde muttered under her breath, her eyes rising up to look at Nightcrawler’s back of a head. He had walked upright with a solid posture ever since they left Epesi’s walls behind, and from the way his head was just so slightly turned, Pryde knew he also had spotted their followers. Pryde turned her head very slightly to Logan and kept get poker face on.

“Can you tell Nightcrawler where the guys are, exactly?” she asked quietly from Logan. Logan nodded and hopped a few steps forward, siding just next to Nightcrawler. Their eyes met.

“Six of them. Two in front, two on both sides. 50 meters from us, two of them directly behind you,” Logan muttered, keeping his eye contact with Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler narrowed his yellow eyes, his corners of a mouth dropping as he listened.

It was to Logan like time would have gotten suddenly slower. He knew what that meant. It always happened when something drastic was about to happen. An accident. A rescue. A brawl. A fight for a life. Nightcrawler tensed his jaw, his nose wrinkling with his snarl and the moment his purple teleportation cloud appeared, Logan turned around, bearing his blades. He was rushing towards the fight to help Nightcrawler but he soon realized the blue mutant needed no help. Nightcrawler teleported at ease from a man to another, cutting and stabbing literally in a blink of an eye his ever target with both of his rapiers. Logan had to admit he didn’t remember the last time he saw a one man taking down 6 heavily armed men with such grace in such a short time. His target never saw him coming. By the time Logan reached Nightcrawler, he was already done with the fight, shaking blood off from his dual blades.

“That was one of the best assassinations I have seen,” Logan complimented Nightcrawler with a wide smile. The blue mutant smiled back at him, something Logan had not expected.

“My fault. Men following me. Cleans all mess himself,” Nightcrawler explained. Then his face got serious and he turned to look at the dead men around them. “Too much death. Too bad,” he muttered with tight lips.

“Yeah. It’s shit when things go to this,” Logan agreed with Nightcrawler’s statement.

“Logan wants to help. Thanks,” Nightcrawler’s head turned to Logan. He had a sincere look in his eyes. “Logan is good man and mutant.”

“Thanks,” Logan was taken back of this sudden gratitude, but he accepted it. “But shouldn’t it be me apologizing you? We’re on this trip because of me and I got these guys after you.”

Nightcrawler straightened his back more and tilted his head slightly backwards, pursing his lips.

“Wife is sick. Not your fault. No sorry needed,” he brushed Logan’s concern off.

“Nightcrawler is right. This is no one’s fault. These slave hunters had this coming as soon as they decided Nightcrawler or any of us would be a good target,” Pryde spoke, arriving at the scene. She looked at the closest body and knelt down to it. “Let’s see if they carry any useful loot.”

Nightcrawler went to other body and took swords from its dead grip. And to another and to other, until all swords were collected. Logan suddenly got a feeling that he knew exactly why Prydes’ had so many swords in their headquarters.

“Should we bury them?” Logan asked from Pryde when the looting was over. Pryde just gave a sad, somewhat hard look at the corpses.

“Leave them. We need to reach Weusi before the sun goes down. Let them return back to earth and feed hungry beasts.”

She went to Nightcrawler and patted his upper back approvingly.

“Well done. I knew you could take them by yourself.”

“Six is easy. Ten is easy. Twenty is easy,” Nightcrawler bashfully answered, carrying his new swords to Piotr. Pryde and Logan followed at his footsteps, and Logan slowed their phase so that he could have a little distance to Nightcrawler.

“I see why he’s your second-in-command,” Logan noted to Pryde. “When you hear, see or smell him, it’s already too late.”

“He makes a good assassin, yes,” Pryde smiled proudly, her eyes being fixated on Nightcrawler’s back. Logan was sure he saw a hint of blush on her cheeks before Pryde pulled her hood up to hide her face. “Come on. We can’t idle here if we want to make it to the Weusi today. Every minute counts.”

Trip to Weusi was less uneventful and all that to everyone’s relief, too. This time Pryde had no contacts, so they had to find a place to sleep. Weusi itself was a small village, surrounded with wooden fences that bore magical symbols and items on them, hanging almost gloomily over the painted walls. The front gate was especially heavily armed with protective items and Logan could smell it. All too well.

“That’s blood, right?” he noted, watching the red circles and stripes painted just recently on the both sides of the entrance.

“Blood is the strongest magical ingredient with most potent in here,” Piotr explained, following the markings with his eyes, too.

“It smells odd,” Logan wrinkled his nose. Nightcrawler huffed.

“Kill beasts, paint walls.”

“Weusi has a reputation of being able to keep the nightly beasts at bay and kill them if they come too close. There are many skilled hunters here. The place might be small, but it is fierce and hard on anyone who tries to cross it. Also, this is a safe haven for mutants,” Pryde told as they entered the town in the middle of nowhere.

Logan could immediately smell and see that majority of the inhabitants were mutants indeed. A few odd side eyes were given to Nightcrawler but otherwise everyone continued their remaining daily businesses before the sundown.

“You have to be a beast to kill a beast, right?” Logan murmured turning his attention to Pryde. Pryde pushed her shoulders back and smiled happily.

“That’s one reason why humans like to keep mutant slaves around. Nothing’s better than someone with inhuman abilities.”

“The slave poachers don’t dare to show their faces here,” Piotr answered Logan’s inner question before he had even voiced it out. His gigantic hand directed Logan’s gaze to a few gibbets near the entrance gate.

“I heard rumors that they don’t waste anything here in Weusi. Gibbet a human slave poacher and after that, roast them, because hey, they are humans not mutants. Mutants are superior here, a different race from humans all together in the Weusi world view,” Pryde spoke as she mimicked a fork being stabbed on a piece of a meat. “But that’s just a rumor.”

“Most likely to keep unwanted humans at bay,” Logan reasoned. Pryde hummed.

“Most likely.”

“Rumor or not, I don’t like it…” Piotr swallowed, face pale.

They walked slowly further in the small town. It was only a one big main street long. Smaller side streets, narrow and busy, spread from the main street all around. The town was surprisingly quiet, if you excluded the sounds of animals every now and then. Just like Logan liked it the best. Pryde stopped a man with four arms and asked where travelers could sleep and eat this night and if there was a place for a horse somewhere. The man advised them to go further along the main street and take a turn from a wooden apple sign to right. At the end of the short street, there would be a small in with bed and simple breakfast. The found it easily and Pryde went inside with Nightcrawler to negotiate them a deal. She returned back after a little while.

“We have to leave Sally here, but the owner said she’ll be safe. Everyone respects animals here,” she said whilst pointing a wooden pillar placed horizontally between two pillars in front of the inn. Logan tied Sally and started to unload the horse with help of Piotr and Nightcrawler.

Pryde guided them inside the inn and to a room, which door had a magical ornament protecting it. She had a key with her already and she let them in. There were two beds made from pallets and a small table.

“Looks like we’re sharing the beds,” Pryde mumbled at the door. Logan’s face fell.

“I’ll sleep on the floor,” he announced, dropping his bags at the furthers corner of the tiny room with a small window.

“If you insist. Piotr, the other bed is yours. Nightcrawler and I will share as we’re smaller and take less space than you. No offence, Colossus.”

“No offence,” Piotr replied with a smile, visibly happy that he could have one of the simple pallet beds completely for himself. Pryde turned to look at Nightcrawler who had not entered the room yet but was waiting outside in the hallway.

“Is that arrangement okay to you?”

“Yes,” he replied with a small croak, offering his bags to Pryde. “Must go. Toilet.”

“Okay, come back to the main room. I’ll ask if they have any food for us here,” Pryde advised Nightcrawler before he teleported away. She was content to let him go alone this time knowing Weusi would be the safest place for someone light Nightcrawler. Perhaps the safest place ever for someone like him.

“I need to take a piss, too,” Logan muttered, pushing past Pryde at the door. “I’ll catch you up with the Crawler.”

Pryde and Piotr secured the room and headed back to the main area, where a few tables and benches, made from all possible reusable material from old gasoline tanks to granite slaps and from roadblocks to cars’ hoods were scattered here and there. They found a spot for four and Piotr went to deal with the food order. He returned shortly.

“They’ll bring us something to eat. I already paid them.”

Logan and Nightcrawler arrived almost at the same time to Pryde and Piotr. Soon after them, a simple food plate followed; flat bread, soup with pieces of meat and jug of beer like drink. It delighted Logan greatly and Nightcrawler looked happy, too.

“Oh? Are you a fan of beer?” Logan grinned at a Nightcrawler while filling his small mug he held up for Logan. Nightcrawler nodded.

“I think we all like beer here,” Pryde said, dipping her piece of the flat bread in her thick soup.

“Do you think this meat---” Logan said and Piotr’s eyes widened.

“Don’t!” he bellowed, angry. Pryde laughed.

“Take it easy. It’s a rumor only and none of us should believe in any rumors. Majority of them are made for to serve their master’s purposes anyway, unlike facts. The fact is that this is a town of hunters and there are lots of beasts out there, as well as life stock. They need no other sources for meat.”

“I was going to ask if this meat came from those beasts?” Logan finished his sentence, face sour that horrible rumors had been brought up to mess up with their dinner.

“Well, Weusi does use all captured beasts for accessories, clothing and food. Protein is important for hunters. And, before you ask, no, I don’t know how they perform a cleaning for the meat, but I have heard from a reliable source that it includes magical rituals. Probably soaking the meat in a salt water or rubbing it with silver and sage?” Pryde answered, mouth half full. “That’s what I’d do that is. But I’m not a magical expert really. Mama is with her oils and stuff.”

“Chicken,” Nightcrawler said, munching a piece of meat from his soup.

“Yeah, this is chicken alright. Better than the beast, I think. I don’t know if I’d trust a soup that is made from a cursed meat. I’d rather have the meat come from---” Logan couldn’t finish his words when Piotr bellowed again.

“Don’t!”

“Piotr, stop! You are freaking us all out!” Pryde slapped the man next to him to his upper arm, genuinely angry.

“….I was going to say from reliable sources.” Logan gave a long, long look at Piotr on the other side of the table.

Nightcrawler next to Logan laughed and bit a chunk from a flat bread.

She woke up to her own gasp of breath, jolting up to sit. Nightcrawler next to her jolted up immediately with her, eyes wide, ready to fight. When he saw nothing alarming in the room, just Piotr and Logan having a snoring competition with one another, he relaxed. Pryde had her arm over her chest, her breathing heaving and raspy. She took a few shaky breaths and laid then back down on her back, swallowing. Nightcrawler laid down to rest on his side, placing his hand over Pryde’s hand on her chest. Her free palm patted Nightcrawler’s palm softly.

“It’s okay. I had a bad dream,” she swallowed again, completely aware that Nightcrawler could see her pale face and droplets of sweat on her face in the complete darkness. He snuggled closer, placing his head to the crook of her neck.

“Bad dreams come to Pryde, come from past?” he asked, his nose nuzzling against her neck. His tail laid atop of her legs.

“…Yes,” Pryde whispered with another swallow, blinking away her tears. When they didn’t disappear with the blinks, she hastily wiped them of with her fingers.

Nightcrawler lifted his head up to take a look at her face. He propped himself on his elbow and upon seeing her tears, took gently a hold of her head, pressing their foreheads together.

“Past far away, not here. Nightcrawler all here,” he mumbled to Pryde, slowly rubbing his bare forehead against hers. She chuckled, feeling already slightly better.

“Thank you for being here, Nightcrawler. I always sleep so much better after bad dreams when you are around,” she scratched the back of his head, earning a small smile from him. A smile which reached up to his eyes and the way they squinted, Pryde knew Nightcrawler was smiling. She traced her hand over his face softly, feeling the smile there.

“Just wanted to see if you smiled,” she explained when Nightcrawler caught her hand into his hold. He kissed her fingers, like he sometimes did if it felt like a suitable moment for such act.

“Always smile with Pryde,” he replied, settling back to sleep against her neck. He threw his arm over Pryde and pulled her closer. “Pryde sleep now. Much walk tomorrow, our journey long.”

“Yes, you are right. We need to rest. My feet are aching.”

“No hurt feet, no hurt past. Pryde sleep, Nightcrawler sleep. All is well.”

Pryde nodded.

“…Someday Pryde tell story? Pryde’s story?” he suddenly asked, a bit unsurely.

“…I…I have told you…” she began but Nightcrawler grunted, shaking his head. He tightened his hold on Pryde.

“Tell Nightcrawler _all,_ someday. When no more hurt is there. Pryde hurt but Nightcrawler wait,” Nightcrawler told, letting Pryde know that he knew she hadn’t told him the whole story. Not even once had he asked about it before, as he could tell it hurt Pryde – whatever had happened in the past – but now, he wanted Pryde to know there was no need to carry it all alone. She knew that, too. There had always been this intuitive connection between them.

Pryde felt again how her eyes were getting damp, her chest getting tight from his kindness. She patted Nightcrawler head.

“Yes. I will. I promise I will tell. If we survive till Bustani, I will tell there,” she breathed out. “But only for you. Not to anyone else.”

Nightcrawler nodded approvingly, taking a deep breath through his nose and closed his eyes.

“We all hurt. We all. Past hurt. Now, Pryde sleep now. Past is far”, he spoke soothingly against her neck.

She couldn’t but agree with his statement. She closed her eyes too, turning her head to rest against Nightcrawler’s head. In a few minutes, both of them had fallen back to restful sleep.


	5. The Nightcrawler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Lil'Acasia everyone has a moment to breath. Logan is interested in knowing more of the mysterious blue Right-Hand Man.

Unseen by any of them, they got ambushed on a road from Weusi to Lil’ Acacia Tree’s resting place. Logan got cut from one of the robbers, but the man cutting Logan got his nose broken and later his spine. As the gang noticed these travelers were all mutants and not mere humans, they fled without being able to snatch anything with them. Pryde’s team felt sorry for all their injured and especially for the dead man. This time, they decided to bury him as the trip to Lil’ Acacia wouldn’t take the whole day. Pryde tossed one of her beads into the grave and following her example, everyone left a memento for the dead man; Logan a few cursed words for the man to attacking him and getting him killed, like the idiot he was. Piotr gave the dead one some salt and Nightcrawler cut a short piece of his long, beaded hair for him. Pryde helped Nightcrawler to get the braid back in order with beads and when that was one, she had a few extra bone carved beads left. She offered them back to Nightcrawler, who only smiled a bit and curled Pryde’s palm around the beads with his hands, pushing her hand back toward her chest.

“Pryde keep. Gift,” he explained, nodding a few times to underline that he really wanted her to have them. Pryde chuckled, tucking the beads into her tunic’s pocket. To Logan, she looked happy.

They continued their journey, unfortunately getting ambushed again. This time it was a gang of mutants, who had mistaken Pryde’s group for humans with an enslaved mutant with them. Or so Pryde hoped, thinking she could talk them out from the situation, but these mutants weren’t on anyone’s side. A real battle ensured, with an overpowering force from the mutant robbers. Nightcrawler saw that his ability was needed, and he quickly transported their goods into safety. Then he returned to fight, taking two men by a surprise. When the fight was over, they had ten dead mutants, a few cuts here and there and lost Sally. Pryde cursed from the bottom of her stomach.

“FUCK!”

Piotr looked guilty, like he had done something wrong. He approached angry Pryde, who was kicking sand on top of the nearest bleeding body.

“I’m sorry. I let Sally escape.”

Pryde kicked the sand a few more times with angry grunts, then let her head fall backwards with a groan. She closed her eyes and ran both of her hands over her face.

“It’s not your fault. You are more important to me than Sally on this trip,” she muttered through her palms. “We need to carry the stuff ourselves now unless we go back to Weusi, get ourselves a new horse or a mule. I suggest we go back. We will be sitting ducks if we have to carry the stuff through the valley. It’s hard to run with water gallons and salt bags.”

“Weusi far, Acasia is closer,” Nightcrawler noted, inspecting a shallow cut on his finger.

“We don’t know if there are any horses or mules or even donkeys at Acasia. It’s mainly a resting spot with a few merchants usually stopping there on their ways to Weusi, Hadiqa and Qalea,” Pryde muttered, annoyed.

“Rest in Acasia, then go back to Weusi,” Nightcrawler continued, tipping his head apologetically to Logan. “Long trip bad for wife. If we die, bad for wife and Logan.”

“I agree with the Blue Fuzz here,” Logan walked over to Pryde and put his palm over her shoulder. “We need the supplies and we need to be fast with carrying them. Let’s go to Lil’ Acacia Tree to check if they have a ride for our supplies. If not, let’s get back to Weusi the next day. I’m okay with this delay. I wasn’t expecting everything to go like in a fairytale anyway.”

Pryde had still her hands over her mouth and she looked extremely sour. Pondering, she calculated their options and finally let her hands drop down with a loudest groan ever.

“It’s the only wise option we have. Come on, boys. Let’s go to Lil’ Acasia.”

“Will we leave the bodies here?” Piotr asked as Nightcrawler teleported to fetch all their belongings from their hiding place.

Pryde wrinkled her nose in disgust.

“Fucking animals, not listening any common sense….” she cursed under her breath, turning her back for the scene and walking away. Piotr looted the bodies with Logan and when Nightcrawler arrived, they shared their supplies for carrying. They caught up with Pryde, who hadn’t gotten far. Logan tossed a bag to her and she took with, face still dark and sour. She said nothing, just threw the bag over her shoulder.

Nightcrawler walked at the end of the group, concerned of Pryde’s well-being. She hadn’t slept well last night and none of them hadn’t expected to be ambushed twice. He kept looking around them with a higher alerted state to make sure this time he would spot the enemy before they got too close. But first, he would teleport Pryde away. She was not in a right mindset to fight. Too disoriented. Too worried. Too angry. Though Nightcrawler had to admit he was agitated and angry, too. They didn’t need these kind of problems now. He was sad for Sally, too. When the night came, she would be eaten by the beasts. He was really sad for Sally. Sally was a good small horse. Silently he prayed that the desert Gods would guide Sally to Weusi and they could reunite with her tomorrow.

They reached Lil’ Acacia after a few hours of walk, hands and backs sore from carrying the supplies. The place was just a wide circle between some rocks, surrounded by salt and fires, which had already been lit. There were a few other travelers resting, chatting and eating, one with a camel, but no horses or mules. Pryde spotted a corner where she guided the group, dropping her bags on the ground.

“I’ll pitch the tents,” Piotr said, already working with the tents. Pryde said nothing to it.

“I’ll make us a fire,” Logan grunted, knowing that gloomy look well. She needed some space to think. It was exactly as with Mariko when she was upset and required some alone time.

Logan disappeared to find some wood. Nightcrawler, however, approached Pryde with a water container. He lifted it up to her and she took it, drinking quietly. When she was done, she sobbed.

“I lost Sally. She was a good girl.”

“Miss Sally, miss Sally,” Nightcrawler agreed, pulling her into a hug. She sniffed but refused to wail. “Sally go to Weusi?” Nightcrawler suggested, peering down her face. Pryde sighed and hugged him tightly.

“I hope so.”

Then she composed herself, shook her shoulders, arms and head and was back to normal. Nightcrawler took a step back and hunched his back down. It still hurt him to walk and stand with a straightened back. Carrying the supplies hadn’t really helped his old injuries and like there would have been a telepathic communication going on, Pryde immediately brought his health up.

“How is your back?”

“Small pain. Bag heavy,” he replied, knowing he couldn’t hide it from Pryde. But he could hide just how much he was hurting, actually.

She gestured him to sit down in front of her as she sat on a small rock nearby.

“Come here. Let me check it.”

He did ask requested, pulling his tunic over his head as he sat down to Pryde’s feet. Her hands were immediately on him, checking and stretching and pressing carefully. He wouldn’t have ever let anyone else touch himself like that, especially from a blind side like a back. But he liked it. He liked to be touched with care and tenderness. His head fell forward, eyes narrowing slowly as Pryde went through his back, humming and pursing her lips.

“Nothing permanent or bad like a sprained muscle. Just some nerve entrapments. I will press your acupressure points, okay?” she asked.

“Okay.”

Pryde proceed to place her fingers on nerve spots and pressing them, helping Nightcrawler’s muscles to relax. She had taught him acupressure, how to do it and how to receive it without fear. It felt so far away when Nightcrawler thought about their first times together with Pryde. He had been so afraid and she so patient with him.

“That’s what my wife does to me when my back hurts,” Logan arrived with some wood and tossed them on the ground. Nightcrawler’s swallowed in secrecy, hoping that Pryde hadn’t realized that he found her touches now pleasurable. Good thing his face never really reflected light so he could hide his little blush.

“Oh? I thought you’ll have no aches as you heal so quick?”

“Well, I’m getting old,” Logan just grunted a reply to Pryde, not really bothering to explain any details – and she never asked for any either. He knelt down to dig a bit for the fire.

“Your wife knows acupressing?” Pryde asked, ignoring Logan’s grunt whilst she continued tending Nightcrawler’s back.

“Yep. Where did you learn it?”

“I taught a lady to fight and in return, she taught me about acupressure,” she answered.

Logan looked at Nightcrawler between his digs.

“Are you hurt?”

Nightcrawler shook his head, avoidin Logan’s eyes.

“Long hurt. Past wound,” he muttered.

“He got some permanent damage in the past that never healed properly. His movements aren’t him being just half-feral. It hurts the less when he moves the way he moves,” Pryde said. She patted Nightcrawler’s back with a smile. “Okay, no more this time. I can press them later again.”

“Thanks,” Nightcrawler said, pulling his tunic back on somewhat hastily. He stood up and jumped to Piotr like a cat, going to help him to pitch the second tent.

“He’s an interesting fellow,” Logan nodded over his shoulder. Pryde looked after Nightcrawler, leaning against her arms and she smiled the first time after the ambush.

“He is.”

\------------------------------------------------

Piotr was already sound asleep in his tent when the midnight arrived, but Nightcrawler was restlessly pacing back and forth near Pryde and Logan with a hunched posture. He was rubbing his hands and giving hasty looks every now and then at his boss. Pryde straightened her back, her head turning to anxious Nightcrawler’s direction.

"It's okay, Fuzzy. I’m talking with Logan,” she gestured at Logan who sat on the stone she had sat on earlier the same day, while Pryde was on the ground across him.

Nightcrawler stopped, straightened his back like the meercats they often hunt together, facing Pryde. Then he paced his weights from leg to another, fidgeting on his place. His tail was restless behind him, too, wiping so close the dusty ground a small buff of dust rose up in the air whenever his tail went too close the ground.

Pryde tilted her head.

“Is something wrong? Does your back hurt?” she asked.

“Tired,” the fidgeting man replied with a raspy voice, still rubbing his hands.

“Tired?”

“Tired. Sleep,” he repeated, pointing his face as he had removed his headband and goatee decoration. “Nightcrawler sleep.”

“Oh, you want to go to sleep. I’m still talking with Logan some time. You can go to sleep without me but if you want to join us for a while come over here. We’re almost done talking,” Pryde gestured with her hand, opening her side for Nightcrawler. He delighted of this gesture and was under Pryde’s arm in seconds, snuggling his head better against her shoulder.

“You seem to come along rather well. You always smell like one another. Especially he seems to like you,” Logan simply noted casually, nodding at Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler ignored Logan’s comment – most likely intentionally - but Pryde smiled tenderly.

“Nightcrawler trusts me the best. Today was a rough and tiring day, so he’s exhausted. You fought well and let me take care of you, ” she complimented Nightcrawler, rubbing his upper bare arm. He exhaled sharply, content, eyes slowly closing. His long tail curled around his and Pryde’s legs.

“Scratch my back and I’ll scratch your-deal?” Logan offered with a humored tone. Pryde just nodded.

“He’s progressed well from the time I found him – and really fast, too – but he still keeps his distances and withdraws if he’s weak, injured or vulnerable. Though now he withdraws into my care or presence instead of slashing out at everyone and anything that moves in a fear of getting hurt. The way I tended him today took lots of effort and practice from both of us.”

Under Pryde’s arm, the half-feral mutant was relaxed and calm, looking like he had already dozed off, or about to do so any given minute.

“Can I speak about you to Logan?” Pryde asked Nightcrawler.

“Yes,” Nightcrawler replied. “Nightcrawler tired. Pryde speak to Logan. Logan is good man.”

Pryde’s hand came on the side of his face.

”See these?” Pryde asked Logan, tracing her finger over a circular scarring on the blue mutant’s face. “And these?” she continued, her finger traveling up to his forehead, where three scars run diagonally above one another. “These are ritual scarring. Whoever owned or had Nightcrawler before, wanted to exorcise evil out from him. These are meant to protect from evil and punish it. All these.” She spoke with a serious tone, stretching the neckline of Nightcrawler’s upper garment slightly wider, revealing the round scars on his chest.

Logan didn’t answer. He pressed his lips tightly together, frowning. He had seen the scars on the very first day he had met with Pryde and her Nightcrawler. The mutant had so many markings all over his body and on all limbs.

“As you can see from the amount of these scars on him, he’s gone through many cleansings. How many years ago that was or how many years it took, I can’t tell. And his back? I don’t know where he has gotten such injuries which haven’t healed properly but I suspect they are related to his scars. He never tells me and I have not asked,” Pryde told. She turned to look at Nightcrawler and scratched his fur underneath his chin, behind his goatee; the man’s eyes squinting tighter shut in acceptance of her touch. “There’s no surprise when I say he doesn’t like touching but allows me to touch him freely. Actually, I’m the only one who can do that without prior warning. Not many of my men have dared to approach him after he slashed at them if they touched him without warning or came too close in his early days in the Prydes. If you ever run to Turnip in the Piled Town, ask him. Nightcrawler bit one of his fingers off right after he had arrived under my care.”

Nightcrawler snorted loud with closed eyes. His sides and chest heaved with the power of the exhale. 

“Yeah. He and Turnip still don’t come along.” Pryde agreed with his snort, petting his chin and neck. Then her head turned to Logan. “Though with your healing abilities, Logan, you don’t have to worry so much around Nightcrawler.”

“I think I’ll pass the offer of getting my finger bit off,” Logan muttered.

Pryde smiled, amused.

“Rest at ease. He’s not that feral anymore, as you must have already realized that. Just don’t give him a spook and he won’t bite. While he’s not speaking that much and he can write only a few words I have taught him, Nightcrawler’s not an idiot. He understands everything the same way we do. He even knows some German and only Lord knows how he learned that. My Nightcrawler knows that you and everyone in this team if off-limits from his teeth, claws and fangs - but if you spook him, he will react with an old muscle memory.”

“…Like an abused slave,” Logan grunted.

Pryde nodded. A sad shadow washed over her eyes.

“… It’s an option,” Pryde sighed, turning again to take a look at Nightcrawler, who had snuggled himself comfortably against her shoulder, under her arm. Her fingers rubbed the tip of his elf ear softly. “He speaks about bad people but hasn’t spoken much else about his past. I have gotten a feeling he’s most likely an escaped slave who was later captured by other people, but at what age did he escape? I don’t know. It’s possible he has lived in isolation even when he was a slave. Perhaps he was a show toy? A fighter for illegal mutant matches?”

“He’s awfully good with a sword,” Logan admitted, gesturing at the resting Nightcrawler. “He has learned that from somewhere.”

“He seems to have some background what it comes to fighting, though he does lack fighter’s scars.” Pryde agreed. “But, he was easy to train to fight once he learned I was trustworthy. And he’s eager to please me.”

“Good traits for a fighter-slave,” Logan nodded, leaning forward. He measured the blue, scarred mutant from head to toe. “Also, when you don’t teach them to read or write, they are easier to control. You keep them away from the outside sources which could affect them, making them think that you are the only one who can keep them safe and sound. I have seen that happening with mutant slaves.”

“They didn’t even bother to give him a name,” Pryde scoffed, now visibly angry. “Goods don’t deserve such fancy things.”

“It’s good you found him,” Logan noted. “He’s clearly cared for in here.”

“Pryde is good. Nightcrawler is good to Pryde,” Nightcrawler suddenly replied to Logan without opening his eyes.

“Yes, we have no issues between us, quite opposite actually,” Pryde smiled and wrapped her arms around Nightcrawler. “We got matching beads, too.” With that, she tangled Nightcrawlers bead string at the right side of his head with her fingers playfully.

“Beads for Pryde,” Nightcrawler smiled, nuzzling his head.

“I don’t know how we managed before you and your strength and teleportation ability,” Pryde talked to Nightcrawler, petting him once more.

“May I ask how you met?” Logan inquired, a bit unsure was the subject okay or not. This time, Nightcrawler opened his eyes and looked at Logan. His expression was forlorn, broken.

“Pryde give coin, many coin but one coin later. Pryde broke nose, arm, leg. She owner, master.”

“There was some commotion indeed,” Pryde sighed, her head tilting to her left side. “He was in Rusty City, at the marketplace. Tied down in robes, half-naked, tossing and squirming and howling at the end of the robe like a wild beast. There were three bulky men on the other end of the robe trying to hold him still. He was beaten up and too exhausted to teleport. The men were yelling at him and two other guys with pitchforks tried to nail him down the ground to calm him down. Oh Goddess, it was horrible!” Pryde gasped for the memory. She petted the side of Nightcrawler’s temple softly. “I found out they had captured him from somewhere and planned on selling him. I insisted they’d release him. ‘Give us money’, they said. I tossed them what coins I had because I just couldn’t leave him there. Such a rare mutant with such a rare visible mutation. That’s never good news for the mutant. The men took my money, laughed at me and said there were keeping the money and would sell this beast for some rich bitch who offers better deal than I. You know, how some are collecting exquisite slaves or pet mutants with rare looks to show off their wealth?”

Logan just nodded.

“Then, one of these assholes spat on my face! I lost it. I broke his nose, another one’s arm and third one got his leg broken.”

Nightcrawler laughed from his throat to Pryde’s story.

“No hit. Can’t hit. Pryde phasing,” he grinned from ear to ear.

“I collected my money, tossed a penny at one of the guys and said that this is our deal. I own this mutant now. Then, I gave Nightcrawler some of my water I had with me. Took him in, gave him a bathe, a haircut and food. Treated his wounds but it took two weeks before he allowed me to groom his fur.”

“Pryde scary,” Nightcrawler slowly nodded, thinking.

“Yeah, you were really showing me those fangs of yours back then. But, like I promised, it all turned well, right? You’re part of Prydes now, and if anyone as anything to complain, I can always say that the business deal still holds.” She was smiling at Nightcrawler.

“Hmm, quite a good deal, for both of you,” Logan mumbled, impressed. Pryde gave him a long look.

“Like I said, he’s my friend. I’m the boss, not the owner. In Prydes, we own no people nor mutants. You can’t put a monetary value on a human life. Tossing a penny at those assholes was all they deserved but my Nightcrawler is immeasurable in money.”

“I can drink for that,” Logan grinned, leaning back in his shallow seat. Nightcrawler had already closed his eyes again and was looking content and relaxed at Pryde’s hold.

They continued chatting with Logan about today’s events and their goal, until Nightcrawler had fallen asleep. Logan shifted in his seat when Nightcrawler was snoring lightly.

“You can ask anything now that he’s asleep,” Pryde said, her attention at the sleeping mutant.

“You read me like an open book,” Logan replied, earning a smug grin from Pryde.

“That’s why I’m the boss here. So?”

Logan narrowed his eyes and leaned slowly against his elbows. “How the hell do you tame a half-feral demonic grown man? One that can teleport and rip body parts with bare hands?”

“Just like you tame any wild beasts; with patience, repetition, positive feedback and earning their trust. Showing you are not a threat and also keeping your cool if they try anything funny.”

“Did he? Try anything?”

“Oh yes. We had some hand to hand encounter if you please. A big one. I discount all the small quarrels where he was just reacting based on his traumas and old experiences getting triggered. He was unable to land any hit on me due my ability to phase. I allowed him to lunge at me, standing completely still. He raged for half an hour, trying everything he could imagine to get me, but when you can’t touch the target, you can’t get them. Finally, after a small eternity, he gave up. Backed up to the corner of the taming area and curled up into a small buddle. It was the first time I saw him cry. I comforted him and let him cry, and after that, something just switched in his mind. We have had no problems with him ever since.”

“Like cleansing some air between you two,” Logan reasoned.

Pryde agreed with him.

“You can say that, yes. I think he realized that I was the first opponent he wouldn’t be able to take down unless I’d allow him to do that. And yet, with all the powers I have over his, I wasn’t against him. I was there for him. I think it also helped that I’m a mutant, like him. I can only guess that other mutants might have hurt him, but I have no evidence for that theory,” Pryde explained.

“There are mutant slaves capturing and kidnapping other mutants for slave markets,” Logan agreed with Pryde’s theory.

She rested her head on top of Nightcrawler’s and inspected Logan curiously.

“How about you? You are a free man, right? Never been a slave? And your wife, is she a mutant, too?”

“I uh… You could say that I’m ‘owned’ legally by my wife. She’s a human and we’re married, so…”

Pryde grinned playfully.

“Oh? A proper legal deal by marriage? That’s really nice for you.”

“It is.”

“Though I’ve heard the mutant-human marriage ownerships deals are more of a custom in Asia and East-Europe due the Asian influence now when the world has gotten smaller and people have gathered more in Europe and Africa,” Pryde said. Then a tender smile rose up to her face, all to way to her eyes. “It’s an entertaining thought; the humanity rises from Africa and returns back to its motherly embrace. ”

“My wife is indeed Japanese. From a rather well-known family line with wealth but even with lots of money, you can’t always buy reliable and trustworthy connections, nor the medicine your wife needs,” Logan muttered with a frown. Pryde gave him a knowing look, petting Nigthcrawler’s hair absently.

“Connections surely mean nothing if they are not trustworthy. I’m glad to see you deemed us Prydes worthy of your trust,” she said while petting her right-hand man.

Logan rubbed his neck hastily, looking more or less uncomfortable.

“I’m used to work alone but this trip is better to do in a group. Wherever I asked about a good mercenary groups, your name popped out again and again. So, here we are now. So far so good.”

“Rest assured, Logan; I didn’t get the reputation for us by sticking one on our clients’ backs whenever they were not looking,” she repeated her earlier promise to Logan. He had to agree with that.

“I have nothing to complain so far.”

“Neither do I. I hope I can still count on you when we start our death run through the werewolf invested valley?” Pryde cocked her head, inspecting Logan’s reply from his face.

“Absolutely. That’s why we are here.”


	6. Dogo Bustani

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Journey to Dogo Bustani has been interesting. The gang is running a bit behind the schedule as they take a rest after their trip through the valley.

The next day, Piotr and Logan headed back to Weusi by their own request. Both of them being almost indestructible left Pryde no other choice but agree with the men’s plan. She gave them extra supplies on to go in a case the price of a new beast of burden would be more costly than expected. Nightcrawler and Pryde went through all their supplies and new loot during the day, withdrawing into the privacy of their shared tent with their stuff. Pryde spread their belonging in the middle of the tent.

“These we can sell here,” she said, pushing away a few swords Nightcrawler had found. “Can you give them some maintenance? Sharp clean stuff sells better.”

Nightcrawler nodded and took the given swords, starting to sharpen one of them with a sharpening stone he always carried with him.

“How is your back?” Pryde asked.

“Better. Pryde sleep better?” Nightcrawler inquired with a hopeful tone.

“Yes, much better. Thank you. It’s easy to sleep when there’s just two of us. Somehow… calmer. More peaceful”, she smiled somewhat bashfully, keeping her chin down.

“Nightcrawler happy,” Nightcrawler grinned softly, pushing his tail smoothly closer to Pryde for a pet. She noticed his cheeky little act and reached out to pet the spade tip of his tail.

“That’s good”, she smiled before returning to sort their supplies.

When the sun was slowly sinking lower down the horizon, Piotr and Logan returned with a young mule. Pryde apologized once more for the loss of one day, but Logan insisted it was not her fault. They ate some game Piotr had caught on their way back to Pryde and Nightcrawler.

“I want you all to be ready for tomorrow. We will travel as fast and as far as we can. Then we have to sleep and hope our defenses work. We must also be aware of ambushes,” Pryde reminded them. The air between all four of them got grim and heavy.

No one said anything.

“I hear them! Quick, Piotr, Nightcrawler, spread the salt, as widely as you can!” Pryde barked a command, holding tightly their mule’s reigns. “Logan, come here! Take the rag from the left bag on the mule and throw it over its head. The less it sees the calmer it stays.”

Nightcrawler, who was carrying a few bags of salt and some of the most important supplies like promised, dropped his belonging down the sand, tossing one of the heavy looking salt bags to Piotr with ease. They ran to opposite direction, ripping bags open and started to draw a circle on the sand. In the horizon, shining eyes came closer to them with a horrible howls and barks.

“Werewolves!” Logan gasped, horrified. “You didn’t say the beast in this valley were werewolves!”

“You never asked,” Pryde replied, following Piotr and Nightcrawler tightly.

Piotr and Nightcrawler finished the salt circle and ran away from the werewolves reach just when the beast arrived. They stopped right at the edge of the salt right, howling and growling and snarling at the salt, at the prey that was so close by and at their own frustration. They encouraged one another to scream and bark and cry louder and louder, their horror opera piercing ears with a cacophony of animalistic noise. Everyone was staring at the beast from the middle of the salt ring, both in shock and in relief that the salt had worked.

“I hope that’s enough,” Logan yelled over the ruckus with a growl. Pryden’s side of a mouth twitched.

“One of us has to stay awake to keep an eye of the salt ring,” she yelled back at him to be heard.

“I don’t think any of us can sleep in this noise,” Logan replied.

“Let’s hope our mule doesn’t freak out too much and run away,” Piotr added with a grim tone, watching how Pryde tried to calm the animal down.

“Unpack him, just in case,” Pryde told Piotr, who hastily got up and unloaded all their supplies down the ground. “Nightcrawler, keep the supplies I gave you close to you, okay?”

They withdrew with their supplies in the middle of the big circle, nervous and uneasy. Logan most of them.

“You tell me that that will keep us alive and not getting bitten or eaten?” he asked once more, eyeing the salt ring and the howling beasts just at its edge.

“Evil can’t cross salt, no matter how powerful it would be. This is our best approach with this valley. Let’s just pray it doesn’t get windy…” Pryde replied, unpacking one of the backpacks. She took out an oil lamb Logan recognized seeing when they were staying with Pryde’s friends Meggan and Brian.

“Brian gave this to me before we left. I promised to return it to him when we go through their house again,” Pryde read Logan’s look. She put an light on when the last of the dim reflections of the sun disappeared from the horizon, turning the dusk into a night.

“It’s dangerous to pitch the tents, so we’ll have to huddle close to one another with our blankets to stay warm.” Pryde advised everyone, sitting down. “Let’s rest out feet and do our best to ignore the beasts, though it will be hard thing to do with this ruckus. As soon as the sun appears, the beast will go and then we start to walk towards Dogo Bustani as fast as we ever can. We have another night like this coming if we are fast – and I’d like us to be, as we need to have salt for the return trip, too.”

“There’s really no sleeping in this and the longer it takes us to reach Dogo Bustani, the more tired we are,” Piotr shook his head.

“Exactly. So, let’s rest and eat to get our energies back even without sleep. I have something good for us to share to uplift our moods,” Pryde fished a small back from one of the bags. Logan smelled it immediately.

“Raisins?” he asked and Nightcrawler’s eyes widened.

“Raisins?” Nightcrawler repeated hopefully, bouncing closer to Pryde.

“Yes, I saved them for this part of the journey. I know you like them, Nightcrawler,” Pryde replied, emphasizing her words to Nightcrawler. “Come on, boys. Let’s get through this shit with the power of some raisins.”

The night was horrendous, and the raisins and what food they had with them brought little no comfort to any of them. The werewolves didn’t stop their howling, barking and yelping. The circled around the salt ring and the higher the moon rose, the more beasts gathered around the ring. No one slept, not even for a one minute, but kept their eyes on the ring, holding their mule’s reigns in turns to keep it calm. They huddled together into a warm pile, counting the passing hours. The night felt endless, tormenting, cold. But slowly, little by little, the amount of the beast reduced, until the final bravest ones ran away half an hour before sunrise. Pryde was sure she had gotten a sore throat when the sun finally rose high enough for them to pack their stuff and exist the salt ring. Her ears were ringing after the night and the way the men with her were shaking their heads and rubbing their ears, the ringing was mutual.

“Gentlemen; we have to get going now. Fast,” she encouraged her group and without any additional words they all followed her. Nightcrawler took again the essential with him, in a case they would be ambushed.

The walked as quickly as they could, stopping only a few times to eat, drink, feed the mule and stretch their legs. The valley was quiet and hot, but no one was waiting for the cooling night’s arrival. When the sun started to disappear dangerously slowly, Pryde ordered the camp to be made and the salt ring to be done. This time, Logan draw the circle while Pryde helped Piotr and Nightcrawler to gather some dry wood nearby before the sun completely disappeared. The small fire wouldn’t last over the night it but would keep them warm in the coldest hours. Until that, they’d go with Brian’s oil lamp. When the first howl echoed across the dark sky, everyone prepared themselves for another night without sleep. This night, there were less beasts and Pryde reasoned it might have been because they were closer to Dogo Bustani than they thought. Based on their hasty phase and how they had practically jogged the whole day, Piotr agreed with Pryde’s thought.

“God, there they come…” Pryde cursed then the first glees of multiple eye pairs twinkled in the distance. In a matter of a few minutes, they were again surrounded by a hoard of werewolves. They barked, howled, drooled and screamed in frustration and anger. Logan took a knife out from its sheath and picked up a small stick.

“Poor bastards,” he muttered, just enough for Pryde to hear.

“They sure are. If I could, I’d kill them all,” she replied back to her, allowing Nightcrawler to snuggle under the comfort of her side. She petted his hair absently, looking at the wall of a howling wolves.

“What’s their story? We have no werewolves in where I come from,” Logan asked, carving the stick to keep his mind occupied with something, to battle the exhaustion.

“There’s this crazy lady called Moon Goddess. An unknown woman who started a cult and these people followed her. She promised that she’d lead her followers into a new state of being, where they wouldn’t have to fear humans as mutants, nor mutants as humans. Instead, both mutants and humans would not dare to threaten them anymore,” Piotr had somehow heard Logan’s words over the horrendous beastly ruckus. “We have no idea how she did it, but she turned everyone into werewolves.”

“Well, she kept her promises. No on in their right mind goes even close to a werewolf,” Logan remarked.

“Sad thing is that they can’t return back to their old form. They are her servants now. If you want to entertain yourself with ethical questions, you can ask yourself are they really following her out of their initial decision, or are they forced into a slavery where they can’t escape anymore, even if they wanted,” Pryde said to Logan.

“Slaves,” Nightcrawler growled, his tail whipping against the sand. “Lies. Bad woman!”

“True that,” Logan agreed with him, turning the stick around in his hand to carve the other side. “No one of you have not tried to end this woman’s reign?”

“We don’t know where she is and to be honest, we have no idea just how much these beasts she has got. What are her weaknesses? How do you take down someone with an army that can turn you with one bite, with one sputter of blood into your digestion or lungs, into one of her beasts?” Pryde sighed, her shoulders slumping. “I’m so sorry I can’t help them…”

To that, Logan said nothing. After the quiet moment between them, Piotr called out over the waves of howls:

“I’m hungry. Anyone want to eat?”

“Yes, good idea. I rather listen to the crunches of ration bars than those,” Logan pointed his hand towards the beasts. He finished his small craft and handed it to Pryde.

“Here. If you ever get kids, give this to them. From uncle Logan.”

“Oh, you are an uncle of my unborn child already? I had a feeling you would befriend a lot slower,” Pryde smiled back, amused, but took the small figure of a wolverine. Nightcrawler’s head rose to inspect the small figurine, too.

“Pretty. Good work,” he complimented Logan, turning then to take food from Piotr.

“Yes. If only this world was pretty for children to be born into, too,” Pryde muttered forlornly. “Do you have children, Logan?”

“I---” Logan began, but sealed then his lips. It was a clear sign for Pryde to drop the matter.

They concentrated on their simple dinner, doing their best to ignore the beasts surrounding them. No one slept that night either and when the dawn broke, everyone was fed up with the valley already. Nightcrawler stretched his back with hands on his lower back and let out a long, loud growl.

“Yeah, I’m tired, too,” Pryde agreed with his growl. “But, we survived the valley, boys. Everyone’s alive.”

“We still have to survive it on our way back home,” Piotr mumbled, having no sign of joy or relief on his face.

The silhouette of Dogo Bustani in the horizon let out a shared cry of joy from the whole team. They had made it. The place for rest was almost there, in their grasps. Somehow everyone found new strength to hasten their steps and when they finally entered the industrial town of Dogo Bustani, the tension which had loomed over them was lifted like by angels. They looked for an inn, finding one which had room for all the four of them. Pryde was so tired of all the phasing she threw herself on the nearest bed and fell asleep in two minutes, snoring on her stomach. Nightcrawler adjusted her gently into a better position, took off his dirty tunic, headband and beard decoration, and curled to sleep next to Pryde, falling asleep as fast as Pryde from the exhaustion. Piotr and Logan decided to follow their example and go to sleep, too.

Pryde woke up at one point when the room was dark, not knowing what the time was. She was feeling hot, so she phased through her hooded tunic and snuggled to sleep against Nightcrawler’s fuzzy back. He inhaled deeply and relaxed into her embrace. The next time she woke up, the sun was already high up in the sky. Piotr nor Logan were nowhere to be seen and Nightcrawler was resting half on top of her. He lifted his head blinking slowly when he noticed Pryde to open her eyes. She yawned, scratching the back of Nightcrawler’s hair.

“Good day, I think. How are you?”

“Good,” he replied with a tiny smile, tail whipping in delight slowly.

“I’m so glad we survived. All four of us,” Pryde breathed, her hand still on Nightcrawler’s back of a neck. “Where are Logan and Piotr?”

“Don’t know. Eating? Hunting? Buying?” Nightcrawler shrugged. His yellow eyes focused on Pryde. “Happy we not hurt. All well. Fight scary, scary for Nightcrawler but Pryde okay. Worry for Pryde.””

Her gaze melted into a pure tenderness.

“I was really afraid for you, too. There was a chance that you could have gotten infected. I’m glad we all got through that hellish valley alive. We still need to go through it once more. Then, I will be afraid for you again,” she said, her voice trembling slightly. “You are my Nightcrawler. I have given my vows to you. I plan on keeping them.”

“Nightcrawler careful. Keep Pryde safe,” Nightcrawler replied, rubbing slowly his forehead against Pryde’s forehead. She sighed, pleased.

“My Nightcrawler…” Pryde whispered, snaking her arms around Nightcrawler’s upper back. He replied with a hum deep from his chest. Pryde’s fingers came to tangle with Nightcrawler’s bead string.

“My Pryde,” Nightcrawler replied, pressing their foreheads together.

They enjoyed the little intimate closeness they could share in a common silence, bodies pressed together into a cuddly embrace. After some while, Pryde petted Nightcrawler’s spiky hair with long flat movements of her palm, smiling.

“I can’t believe you are the same man who tried to bite my fingers and cut my head off from my shoulders. I’m really, really proud of you. Thank you for trusting me and the rest of the Prydes.”

“Pryde good. Pryde boss. Pryde not dangerous. Give promise to Pryde, Pryde give another promise. Vow,” Nightcrawler explained.

“Yes, I’m the boss, but also more than that. I’m on your side. Now and always.”

“Ja,” Nightcrawler grinned with his German comment, hugging Pryde tighter for a moment, before he left her embrace and stood up.

“Piotr coming,” he informed Pryde, getting up and sitting at the end of their bed right before Piotr opened the door, surprised.

“Good day, boss. I thought you’d be still sleeping,” he greeted Pryde. Pryde stretched her whole body and yawned.

“Good day, Piotr. I’m really hungry and I can smell you have something tasty with you.”

“Some street food junk. I can go to get some for you?”

“No need to. Rest. I have to get out of the bed, get something to eat and drink – boy, do I really need a drink – so I’ll go. Are you coming, too, Nightcrawler?”

Nightcrawler was still sitting on the edge in his boxers only. He pursed his lips.

“Pryde go.”

“Okay, I’ll go by myself.”

Lazily she got out from the bed and fished her tunic from the floor where she had absently tossed it last night. She run at a door to Logan, who smirked at her.

“Good to see you up, Pryde. This place isn’t half bad.”

“Wait till we get to Bustani,” Pryde said, phasing through him. “I’ll go get something to eat. We’ll rest this day and go to Bustani tomorrow.” She stopped on her tracks on the hallway. “Is that okay with you, Logan?”

“As long as I get the medicine to my wife.”

“Good. I’m sorry for this delay. The valley was worse and more taxing than I thought.”

“Life happens and that sucks. Now, go eat, boss.”

Logan closed the door behind him and immediately saw Nightcrawler sitting on the bed’s edge without his tunic. All his scars were visible in the sun light. Logan took a seat from the window’s creaky sill.

“May I ask about those?” he pointed his finger at Nightcrawler’s chest, where three long lines run diagonally across both of his pecs.

“Ritual,” Nightcrawler replied casually.

“And those, too? On your arms and legs?” Logan continued. Nightcrawler looked at the X-shaped scars with tip details on his upper arms and outer thighs.

“Yes. All,” he nodded, showing Logan his sides, which also had scarring lines.

“Scarring is a hell of a process. I have met a few with scarrings but never anyone with as many as yours. They have used blades, fire and mud to cause scarring,” Logan muttered.

“Yes,” Nightcrawler’s head titled slightly. “Mud bad. Hurts. Then scar comes up”.

“My condolences.”

Nightcrawler huffed through his tiny smile, barely visible. It was rare to see him smile.

“No. It is okay. Past.”

“And what’s your story, big guy?” Logan turned now his attention to Piotr, who was eating his dinner on a skewer. He swallowed his mouthful before speaking.

“Me and my sister went from family to another. No one really wanted us. They don’t like Russians here,” Piotr replied, scoffing. Logan hummed.

“Oh yeah. Russian Rebellion three decades ago.”

“Da. There’s still bad blood in the air because of that.”

“You are well preserved, though, compared to your blue fellow here,” Logan noted. Piotr laughed.

“Can’t scar or hurt metal, can you?”

“And your sister?”

“She’s with us in the Prydes. All unharmed. I made sure of that,” Piotr replied, and his tone was dark, darker than Logan had anticipated. Nighcrawler chuckled at Piotr’s comment, amused, and Logan turned to him.

“You know something?”

“Piotr scary,” he just smiled with the corner of his mouth slightly, not really going into any more details.

“Yeah. I’ve gotten a feeling that everyone in the leading positions in Prydes are more or less scary, feral or demonic,” Logan grinned back, his attention then back at Piotr. “Your sister is a mutant, too?”

“Yes. And if something happens to all of us, the next leader of Prydes.”

“Hmm, so we better get back unharmed then?” Logan guessed. His head turned to Nightcrawler once more. “It’s nice to see you smile every now and then, though. Your mouth is always curved downwards. And you are not giving me that Bad Evil Eye stare anymore.”

“Pryde trust Logan, Nightcrawler trust too,” he replied. “Work for Logan now.”

“Where did you learn to fight?” Logan asked another question from Nightcrawler. This time, Nightcrawler’s eyes widened, then narrowed quickly and he turned his head away; the shadow casting over his face hiding his expression.

“No talk,” Nightcrawler hissed between his fangs.

“O—Okay, we won’t talk about that then,” Logan cleared his throat, awkward. “Just wanted to compliment you. You fight both like a feral beast and a trained mercenary. It’s impressive.”

“I don’t think even Pryde knows about that,” Piotr muttered thoughtfully, eyes on Nightcrawler. He gave a nasty glare to Piotr, too, scoffing.

“She doesn’t,” Logan told to Piotr. Nightcrawler stood up suddenly, his drilling stare now at Logan. He pushed his chest out, fingers tensing.

“No talk!” he growled deeply from his scarred chest. Slowly Logan lifted his palms up in the air.

“Okay, okay, don’t give me that Bad Evil Eye when I just praised you for not having stared at me with that murderous intention lately,” Logan said, not taking his eyes off from the offended Nightcrawler.

Nightcrawler huffed through his nose and took his tunic from the floor, dressing and heading then out from the door without another word.

“He is… interesting?” Logan offered to Piotr, who just shrugged at Logan’s comment.

“Half-feral half-demon,” he reminded Logan casually.

“With a past.”

“Like we all,” Piotr muttered.


	7. Bustani

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Bustani, Pryde and Logan should be able to find the medicine for her wife. A familiar face is met in Bustani.

Nightcrawler walked the streets of Dogo Bustani, upset. He hadn’t wanted to let Logan see just how much it pained him to think about his past, which had granted him the skills with the sword Logan so seemed to be impressed about. He tightened his bandana around his forehead and pushed forward in slumped pose, avoiding eye contacts with the strangers on the street. No one seemed to mind him, but he knew he was a valuable catch as a mutant. Thus, Nightcrawler kept his senses alerted. Soon, his eyes caught a familiar yellow tunic with a hood. Like Pryde would have sensed his presence, she turned around and met his face with a smile. His prior upset mindset was gone as soon as he saw Pryde’s smiling face.

“Are you hungry?”, Pryde asked Nightcrawler when he reached her. He nodded, unable to resist the sweet smell of the mysterious skewers Piotr had been eating, too.

Pryde bought them food with some salt and coins, offering a bunch of steaming skewers to Nightcrawler.

“Eat. We have to take Logan to Bustani tomorrow. Then, we can rest there for a while. We don’t know where the medicine is or how hard it is to get, but I hope all goes well.”

“Hmm, Logan no tell,” Nightcrawler agreed.

He reached closer to Pryde, taking a hold of her waist with his free arm. Then, he teleported them on top of a high building, away from the lights and the hustles of the small town’s streets. He sat down, helping Pryde to sat next to him by offering his hand for her to take support from.

“It’s true. Logan hasn’t spoken much anything about himself, except what little we heard from him in the Lil’ Acacia,” Pryde said, sitting down slowly making sure she wouldn’t drop any of her skewers.

“Is problem?” Nightcrawler asked, concerned. Pryde shook her head hastily, taking her hood off.

“No. I trust Logan. He’s just a private man. Like you.”

“Man. No beast,” Nightcrawler spoke thoughtfully, tapping his chest.

“Exactly. My right-hand man,” Pryde smiled, scratching his chin with her index finger; something he liked to be done to him. “Will you sleep next to me this night, too?”

“Yes,” he answered, eyes glimmering. He always liked it when Pryde wanted to share a bed with him. Now more than ever. Nightcrawler wasn’t an idiot. He had eyes to see. Mind to contemplate. It was obvious that Pryde was tired, exhausted. She hadn’t rested enough and Nightcrawler could tell that the mental pressure of leading this trip while worrying for the Prydes at home was eating her up. Slowly but surely. She was strong, but everyone had their limits. If he could ensure that Pryde slept well, was comforted and stayed warm during nights, Nightcrawler was more than happy to do that.

It hadn’t always been that way, he remembered. He had been against this woman at one time. Furious. Scared. Beaten. Completely broken. But she had showed him the light. Showed him a new way of living. Brought him to a place he could, for the first time in his life, call home. Treated him like a human being, trusted him, giving him space and time to recover. She didn’t mind that he had difficulties with speaking or that he couldn’t write. Patiently she waited for him to open up for more words, for more communication, and taught him write and read basics. In her room, she had a few books which she read to him, especially in the beginning when he squatted in the corners of her room, scared, concerned, uncertain of everything. Those memories were still fond in Nightcrawler’s heart.

“Do you remember how you used to hide on the highest beam, near the ceiling?” Pryde asked, like reading Nightcrawler’s mind.

“Yes,” he replied.

“And how I managed to lure you closer with the stories and raisins?” she smirked at him.

“Raisins tasty and pirate story is very good,” Nightcrawler fell into his memories.

“Look at you now; here, next to me, eating peacefully. In a city with busy streets and lots of noises and sudden movements. Traveling with a man you don’t know. You have come so far.”

“Say thank you to Pryde,” Nightcrawler toasted his skewer to Pryde, who laughed. She tapped their skewers together with a cling sound she made with her mouth.

“To us?” she asked.

“To us,” Nightcrawler grinned from ear to ear, happy.

Whatever bad thoughts and memories he had had earlier, they were completely gone by the time they had eaten with Pryde and were heading back to their inn room. Logan was gone somewhere, again, and Piotr was drawing something on a small notebook he carried with him everywhere. He had tossed his head scarf away from his head. It was rare to see him without it.

“It’s good to see you drawing,” Pryde commented, flopping to sit on the bed she was sharing with Nightcrawler.

“Why?” Piotr asked.

“It means you are not as tired as I feared we all would be after that valley.”

“Drawing relaxes me,” Piotr answered without lifting his gaze up from the paper. “I can draw even when I’m tired and exhausted.”

“So, you are still tired?”

“Da. You?”

Pryde fell on her back on the bed, arms spread to her sides.

“Beaten,” she groaned, rubbing her eyes. “We really need to gather our strength in Bustani for the trip back home. The journey from the valley to home will be longer than from the valley to Bustani.”

“We’ll be staying with your friends again?” Piotr stopped his doodling for a second.

“Yeah. They agreed upon that. It’s good. It’s the safest place for us in this whole journey. There I can rest at ease, knowing none of you will croak or we won’t get ambushed or anything similar while I sleep.”

“You worry too much, boss,” Piotr said, his tone comforting. “We’re grown-ups. We can handle ourselves.”

“It’s my job as a boss,” Pryde defended herself, pouting.

Nightcrawler came to sit at the end of Pryde’s bed, squatting down.

“Piotr right. Don’t worry.”

She could argue with Piotr but rarely with Nightcrawler. This time, she gave up, too, sighing deeply and rubbing again her tired, burning eyes.

“Fine, I won’t worry so much. I hope.”

It was easy to forget your worries for a moment when Nightcrawler’s back against your cheeks was so soft and warm. This is what Pryde thought when she stirred up for a moment at the night. Nightcrawler was sleeping on his side, his bare back toward Pryde. She snuggled closer to him, snaking her arm around his waist carefully, squeezed him tight for a second and let out a deep, comfortable breath through her nose.

He was always so soft to touch. Fuzzy. Indeed Fuzzy. He deserved that extra name. Oh, how his fur had gotten so much better compered to how it had been. He was so comfortable to hug and it made Pryde especially happy that she was the only person in the world Nightcrawler allowed to hug and touch him freely.

This was what Pryde marveled right before she dozed off again, her body glued against her right-hand man’s body.

“I’m sorry again the delay, Logan,” Pryde apologized when the team had left Dogo Bustani a few hours earlier. “But if it eases you even a little, it’s only one more hour to Bustani.”

“I said it is fine. Shit happens,” Logan grunted, dodging the apology completely. “A small delay is a minor issue. We’re all alive, not robbed and almost there.”

The high towers of Bustani and its gigantic stone walls were already visible for the group. It didn’t draw as much delight out of them as seeing Dogo Bustani after the valley, but they rejoiced openly when they came to the big wooden gate of Bustani. Pryde stopped the group.

“Alright, Logan. Show me the way, if you know it?” she gave the lead to Logan. He frowned.

“I’m not exactly sure where I can find it but let’s try medicine women first.”

“Your call,” Pryde nodded approvingly.

“Should we go to inn first, get a place for our stuff and mule, and then go to search the medicine?” Piotr cut in, blinking.

“Logan’s call,” Pryde said, taking Logan by surprise. He composed himself quickly.

“The inn first so you can rest. I don’t need you to go with me.”

“Nuh-uh, I will come with you,” Pryde crossed her arms. “You are my client, so it is my job to keep you safe. Besides, I know Bustani. You don’t.”

“Fine,” Logan murmured, starting to walk deeper into the city as the rest of the group followed him.

They located an inn which had space for a mule, too. It was more expensive than they had planned but Pryde paid the asked price, cursing a little under her breath and underlining that the food better be good in the inn. Then, she left to look for the medicine with Logan.

“My legs are aching,” she apologized when she was left a bit behind from Logan, who was hurrying with determination forward in the wide streets of Bustani. Logan returned back to her.

“You can go back to the inn,” he put a hand on Pryde’s shoulder like a father to a daughter. “I can find the medicine.”

“Bustani is huge and we already lost some time. Just… Let’s walk a bit slower and go this way,” Pryde suggested. She took the lead and guided Logan through the curved streets – typical for Bustani’s architecture – until they reached a fancy signboard screaming with rusting letters “Medicine”.

“I’d start from here,” Pryde pointed the place with her thumb, getting a half-amused grunt from Logan.

“Well, it’s at least obviously a place that sells medicine.”

“Not only that. Come on,” Pryde winked her eye at Logan.

“Oh, women?” Logan grinned, and Pryde huffed.

“I thought you had a wife.”

“It was a joke.”

Pryde opened the door of the medicine shop with a one push. It creaked sadly on its hinges, alerting the woman at the desk. Inside, the customers paid no attention to Pryde or Logan. Logan was sure he was able to smell hundred different scents in the air, from sweet to something poisonous and everything in between.

“Hi. Is Ororo still working here?” Pryde asked from the red-haired woman at the desk. She measured Pryde slowly from head to toe, turning then to measure short Logan. She hummed.

“What is that you’re looking for? We have enough of medicine here,” she asked, sourly.

“If she is, tell her Kitten is here,” Pryde leaned closer at the woman over the counter. She was still not impressed but she seemed to calculate was the argument really worth it with these two. When she didn’t reply fast enough, Pryde added calmly. “She’ll be upset if she hears I was here, and we didn’t meet.”

“Kitten, is that you?!” came a surprised gasp from the backroom doorframe. A black woman, with a white majestic mohawk and in black beautiful outfit stood there, holding a bead curtain up with her hand. She gasped again when she saw Pryde.

“Kitten, it is you!” she rushed to hug Pryde, who laughed happily.

“Ororo! It’s been so long!” she held her friend tightly.

“Oh, Kitten. What brings you to Bustani?” Ororo asked, her palms on Pryde’s cheeks.

“Actually, I’m here because he needs help,” Pryde said, turning her body to Logan. “Ororo, this is Logan. He has traveled very far to fetch medicine for his sick wife. Logan, this is Ororo. An old friend of mine and a medicine woman. She established this shop many years ago.”

Logan offered his hand to a handshake to Ororo. Close by, she looked even more radiant and divine than from the doorframe.

“I understand. Please, follow me, Mr. Logan,” Ororo said, gesturing them both to follow her to the back room.

The back room was a lot smaller than anticipated. Everyplace was full of jars, bottles, cans, bags, bundles of herbs, candles, bones, fur… Anything one could imagine. There was a small resting bench with a few very worn pillows and lots of counters to work on. The air was hot and sweet in scent, and the sound of the big cities were dulled by the thick walls.

Ororo went to arrange bottles from one shelf, looking for something.

“What can I do for you Mr. Logan?”

“I was told to fetch this,” Logan said, fumpling a piece of brown paper from his leopard hide outfit. He handed it to Ororo, who eyed it, humming.

“Yes, I should still have some and I can make more if needed,” Ororo spoke. “This is not much used medicine here. You must be very far from a different climate area, Mr. Logan?”

“Yes,” Logan said, but didn’t tell more about his homeland. Ororo turned to search around the bottles again, pulling them something out.

“Kitten, take this. I have meant to send you this, but it is better if you take it yourself,” Ororo handed Pryde a medium sized brown bottle. She immediately lifted her palms up.

“No! No, I can’t possibly be taking this from you...!” she cried, eyes wide.

“Please, it is a gift. I know Prydes need this. Take it,” Ororo insisted, pushing the bottle against Pryde’s chest. “I will not take ‘no’ as an answer, Kitten.”

“I—I will pay---”

“No, it is a present.”

“I suspect the medicine I’m here for will not be a gift,” Logan interrupted, lips tightly pressed together. “What it costs to me?”

“What do you have for me?” Ororo crossed her arms, tilting her head curiously. There was a twinkle of humor in her eyes.

“I’ll leave you two to do business,” Pryde cut in, pushing the bottle inside her tunic for safety. “I’ll buy some supplies and when you are done, Logan, we’ll go back.”

“Leaving so soon?” Ororo’s attention was now at Pryde.

“Just to inn. We need to rest. We… well, I mean, let’s chat later. Business first,” she excused herself out from the backroom, not wanting to waste more Logan’s time. He was a lot more patient client than his looks let one believe but everyone had their limits. Pryde didn’t want to test Logan’s.

In the shop, the red-haired woman at the counter gave Pryde a slightly sour look but said nothing. Pryde went to circle around the small shop room, eyeing every medicine, bag, jar and bundle. They needed to have some new stocks to headquarters. She was prepared and had taken a bit more money with her than planned, keeping it hidden from everyone the whole trip. Logan was finished with his shopping before Pryde.

“You got it?” Pryde asked from the knelt position as she rummaged through the shelf near the floor.

“Yeah, got it.”

“Good. I’m glad. Now we have to survive back home alive and we’re good with this deal.” She collected a few bags and stood up, her lap pretty much full of different stuff. Logan gave her a curious look but didn’t comment her shopping spree. At the counter, Ororo met her again.

“You said you are leaving to inn. Why not stay at my place? I have room for two,” she asked, standing next to her at the counter’s side. Pryde smiled, apologizing, stepping away from the counter.

“There are actually four of us.”

“Four? Why?”

“We are in a hurry and lack of some supplies, so we had to come through the valley to----”

“Through the valley?!” Ororo gasped, shocked. Her brows knit together as she pushed her head closer to Pryde. “That’s extremely dangerous! Are you planning on taking the trip back that way, too?”

“We have to,” Pryde swallowed, suddenly ashamed that she had angered Ororo. “But we can make it. You remember Piotr? We met before the life took you and me to different directions. He’s with me. My client here is basically immortal. I have also a really good teleporter assassin with me. We’re hard to catch.”

“You don’t have to catch anything else but some blood or saliva…!” Ororo sternly reminded Pryde. Then she caught herself for being upset. A loud sigh followed. “But, you are the boss and I can see you have made your decision. You have always been very hard from your head, Kitten.”

“Time is really not on our side either,” Logan cleared his throat, arms crossed over his chest.

“He’s basically out here without his master, if you catch my hint,” Pryde whispered to Ororo. She took a surprised look at Logan, lips parting.

“Marriage with a human? Then, I understand. You can’t be wandering here and there too far from your ‘master’”.

Logan crossed his arms tighter over his chest.

“Exactly, Lady.”

“I won’t be holding you then. Please, come to visit me some other time, when you are not in a hurry, if it’s possible for you in your position,” Ororo wished with a touched expression. She gave Pryde a final hug and wished well for Logan.

When they had exited the shop, Logan turned to look over his shoulder.

“Kitten?” he asked.

“That’s Ororo’s nickname for me. She’s… sort of a mother figure to me.”

“That was a lot easier than I had anticipated. I feel sorry that I even dragged you into this mess,” Logan inspected the medicine Ororo had had for him.

“Aaw, if you aren’t sorry you hired us for nothing,” Pryde replied back wittingly. “Goddesses have been graceful to us. Let’s hope our luck continues all the way back home.”

They made their way back to the inn, where Piotr was again drawing something, while Nightcrawler hung upside down from a ceiling bean, resting in a position which looked uncomfortable. His eyes opened as soon as he heard the door opening.

“Pryde and Logan back,” he grinned a greeting for them. “Logan get medicine for wife?”

“Yep!” Logan replied, showing his medicine bag for Nightcrawler.

“As our work here in Bustani is now done, you all are free to go and enjoy yourself. We’ll leave back home day after tomorrow. Don’t get yourself killed or into a trouble, okay?” Pryde announced. The group of men cheered in unison and Logan and Piotr left on their own ways. Only Nightcrawler stayed behind in the inn, closing his eyes to fall back to rest.

When the room was quiet and Pryde had found a comfortable position from one of the beds, Nightcrawler peeked at her with one of his eyes open.

“Pryde tell? Keep promise?” he asked.

“N—Now?” Pryde stuttered, remembering what she had said to Nightcrawler on that night when she had woken him up with her nightmare jolt.

“If want,” he gestured the air vaguely. “Logan is not here, and Piotr is not here, be gone for long. Drink. Eat. Relax. Pryde relax, too. Tell Nightcrawler heavy things carrying.”

“Ah, well, I did give you my word,” Prdyde began. Her upper body bent forward over her legs. “I was serving this rich family in Gathar. Do you know where it is?”

Nightcrawler shook his head.

“It’s in north-west in Europe. Used to be quite rich place back in the history, so old money still lives there. Where there’s money, there are dangers, too.”

“What do you do?”

“I was an assassin for them. Killed the family’s rivals… Well, anyone they saw as a threat,” Pryde sighed. “I’m not happy for what I did.”

“Hmm, Pryde learn to fight. Pryde boss now. Say thank you to past,” Nightcrawler replied to her sigh.

“Yeah, it’s not a lie if I say that those years taught me well,” Pryde smiled weakly. “Still, so many died. So many. I never got to find out if they were innocent or not. Just… Go and kill. No questions asked. It…” she kept a pause, gathering her thoughts. “…horrible. Unfair.”

Nightcrawler hummed deep from his chest, tilting his head slightly.

“Pryde is fair because past Pryde is cruel. Forced to do cruel actions. That is not Pryde’s heart,” he murmured thoughtfully, arms crossing over his exposed chest. “Pryde learn.”

“That wasn’t definitely what or who I am,” she agreed, keeping her gaze away from Nightcrawler.

“Pryde stop killing?”

“Yes. I stopped and left the family.”

“Means Pryde not slave?”

Pryde shook her head so harshly her beads made a loud sound against one another.

“I was a slave. The family owned me. Bought me from a slave market when I was 10 years old. Apparently old enough to start training how to kill people. They wanted to train their own assassin to assure I would be loyal to them. When they didn’t let me go with after all the negotiation attempts, I killed the head of the family. Then, I ran. Took with me whatever I could. They didn’t send anyone after me. I think they were too afraid I would kill my pursuers, too.” She fall into silence, looking at the floor with a stoic look.

Nightcrawler didn’t ask what she was thinking. Instead, he hummed again from his chest and waited for her to continue whenever she was ready for it.

“It was… Almost seven years ago. I… I was so young back then.” Pryde finally said, swallowing down her discomfort.

“Pryde safe?” Nightcrawler’s tone was concerned.

“It seems so. Haven’t heard anyone being after me, but you never know…”

Nightcrawler’s eyes narrowed sharply. He jumped down on his feet from his upside position and bounced to kneel right under Pryde’s nose, looking angry.

“Why Pryde no tell?” he hissed, fangs visible. “Protect Pryde better. Can’t protect because Pryde own secrets.”

Pryde was taken by surprised of Nightcrawler’s anger. She frowned.

“My past is a private thing,” she said but Nightcrawler pushed his head higher to Pryde’s face, neck tensing.

“Can’t protect if not know there is assassins. Keep Pryde safe but can’t protect!” he insisted feverishly.

“I… I’m alright,” Pryde laughed awkwardly, trying to brush Nightcrawler’s concerns off. He growled.

“Pryde hurt, Nightcrawler hurt!” he snapped and snatched her hand into his hold, getting a small surprised gasp from Pryde. He pressed her palm against his chest with both of his hands. “Pryde hurt, Pryde die, Nightcrawler hurt here.”

Pryde was lost at words. She swallowed.

“I… I’m sorry. I said nothing because I thought it doesn’t matter. I have been safe from that family for almost a decade now. If they wanted an assassin after me, I think they would have done that already.”

“Can’t know!” Nightcrawler stubbornly kept his opinion. “Right-hand man protect, keep eyes open if assassins show to Pryde. Kill them before they kill Pryde. But, don’t know assassin, can’t protect. Pryde not trust?”

“I do trust you!” she gasped with wide eyes. “I thought it wouldn’t matter as I ran away so long ago. I’m sorry. I was selfish. I didn’t realize it would pain you so much. Forgive me.”

Nightcrawler inspected her eyes tightly. After a short moment, he closed his eyes and shook his head hissing at Pryde.

“Keep Pryde safe. Nightcrawler promise. Pryde save Nightcrawler, give home, give clothes and food. Pryde pat head and say Nightcrawler good man. Nightcrawler happy. Pryde die, Nightcrawler…” he didn’t finish his sentence. He didn’t need to. Pryde pulled him into a tight hug.

“I’m not planning on dying, my Nightcrawler.”

He hugged her back like his life depended on it. He broke the hug, awkward, his gaze fallen down the floor.

“Nightcrawler go out, fresh air,” he stammered.

“Of course. Stay safe.”

With that, Nightcrawler teleported away to whatever prior spot in Bustani he had seen and liked before, leaving Pryde wave the remains of his teleport cloud away from her worried face.


	8. Journey Back Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The journey back home from the same tracks goes horribly wrong right.

Logan sneered victoriously, flashing Pryde a pile of money and some other items.

“You didn’t tell that Bustani has Fight Rings,” he said proudly. “I got us some extra items and money for a trip back home.”

“You went to fight?” Pryde gasped from the other side of the small inn room table. She shot her angry eyes to Logan. “Your life is yours but I’m not going to lie; if you croak, I will be very upset that you have put both of my men into a danger to get the medicine for your wife. I---”

Logan shushed her, his hand patting her shoulder almost fatherly over the table.

“A little arranged fight for over goods and money will not kill a healer type,” he reminded Pryde. He closed his straw bag and tug it into his leopard hide.

A thought seemed to flash through Pryde’s head suddenly. Her nose wrinkled.

“Was Piotr with you?”

“No. I don’t know where the boy is. We had a beer together and then went to our own directions. But I bet he’s fine. He’s got some spirit.”

“Yes, I suppose. That’s why he’s my left-hand man,” Pryde muttered, still unhappy that Logan had went out to fight. She saw it was the best to drop the subject as Logan was fine and she hadn’t been paid for baby sitting him. Just to escort him to Bustani and back to Prydes’ HQ.

“Where is your furry right-hand man?” Logan asked, reaching over the table to take a piece of bread from the basket.

“On his own journey,” Pryde replied, leaning against her palm. “He promised to be back before we go to sleep.”

“Chasing women?” Logan grinned and didn’t miss the dark, sour look on Pryde’s face.

“That’s Piotr’s job.”

“Well, whatever he’s doing, I hope he’s fine,” Logan shrugged.

“He’s strong enough to teleport into safety of our room, so I trust him, even if he ran into some odd folk. He can defend himself.”

“I saw him fighting. Complimented him about it but as you remember, he was grumpy when I asked where he has learned to fight. You know anything about it?” Logan’s eyebrow rose curiously as he took a quick look at Pryde. Then he returned to divine his bread piece into two smaller pieces. “You don’t learn such a savage yet elegant style without some prior experience, a mutant teleporter or not.”

Pryde whirled her drink in her mug, humming thoughtfully.

“He never wants to talk about it, so I don’t know all details, nor I have asked. There are… Well, some things are private for a reason,” she murmured, eyes on her drink. “Apparently, he was, at some point by someone, used to fight wild animals and other mutants for entertainment and later, if I have understood him correctly, to kill convicted, unwanted humans in fights.”

“You mean like those Roman gladiator stuff? Feeding Christians to lions?” Logan’s tone was low.

Pryde nodded.

“The same stuff. It’s interesting how humanity always reinvents its worst habits.”

“That is…” Logan straightened his back, leaning deeper into his seat’s backrest. His lips pressed together. “That’s inhuman.”

“When you look like Nightcrawler does and behave like an untamed mutant, you get no better treatment than bugs from humans,” Pryde spat, angry. “Don’t tell him that you went and participated in a Fight Ring, if you can.”

Logan nodded with a hum, silently agreeing that Pryde’s wish was more than reasonable.

“If I recall it right, you trained him?”

Pryde’s face lightened up.

“Yes. He was very easy to train to fight with more purpose and structure. The worst part was to reprogram his mind to see fighting not as something he has to engage into if he doesn’t want to, but as a self-defense and a way to help other Prydes, if they are in a trouble. But, Nightcrawler learned it all faster than I anticipated. I’m proud of him. He really wanted to better himself and get a better life.” She kept a small pause, weighting her words. “I’m not entirely sure of the details but he seems to have some sort of spiritual belief system he follows. Whether it is a respect towards life, some religious teachings he has encountered as a slave which he adjusted to fit himself or something more akin to mysticism, I sometimes find him contemplating quietly while looking far into a distance. When I ask if he’s alright, Nightcrawler tells me with a serious but content expression that he’s speaking to Others. I wanted to know more about them, but he just says they are everywhere and look over, smiling.”

“Better not to stick your nose into anyone’s faith,” Logan advised Pryde. She didn’t resist his idea.

”Right. Some things are the best to kept hidden in your heart, even from the boss.”

“Does this boss have any hidden things in her heart?” Logan asked casually. He pulled a deck of playing cards out from somewhere and shuffled them while inspecting Pryde’s poker face. “If she has, maybe she could unload her heart with someone who is not in the Prydes and do so over a round of War?”

“I can play War with you if that’s what you asked,” Pryde replied leaning on her elbows. Logan smirked.

“I didn’t.”

“I don’t have a habit to talk about personal matters with my clients,” Pryde calmly noted. Logan hummed, eyebrow cocking.

“I didn’t mention anything about personal matters.”

“You said things hidden in one’s heart.”

“Yeah, but you brought the personal part up,” Logan pointed at Pryde. He concentrated back on his deck, starting to pile the cards in two piles. “So, I’m assuming there are some issues. I don’t need all the details; I have eyes you know.”

Pryde’s nose wrinkled.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she snapped.

“That blue man of yours is always around you and you keep your worried eyes on him when he’s not watching,” Logan spoke, his tone surprisingly parental. “Is there something troubling you in him? Anything I could help with as a payment for your help?”

“You have paid already,” Pryde quickly replied, composing herself but her faint blush on her cheeks was not faint enough for Logan not to see. “He’s one of his kind. Rare. I don’t think I have to explain what that means in our world to you.”

“That’s all?”

“That’s all,” Pryde shot a look at Logan, snatching her card pile into her hands. “Your concern is kind but not needed. Please, concentrate on your wife’s well-being more.”

“I am,” Logan muttered, hurt. Quickly Pryde realized that she had worded her thoughts wrongly.

“Not to say that you aren’t!” she corrected herself, initializing the game to start. She flipped a card on the table; four of spades. “I… I just…”

“You just wanted to direct my attention to someone I love so you don’t have to spill the same out about you. I get it, kiddo. It’s fine. Not judging anyone or anything,” Logan replied, flipping his card on the table. With a seven of hearts, he won the first round, collecting Pryde’s card into his pile.

Pryde looked uncomfortable.

“…I rather not speak about it.”

“Okay. Just thought that perhaps you wanted to ease your heart to someone who is not in Prydes and will not spread the word forward either.”

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Pryde stayed with her earlier decision, continuing the card came with her eyes cast down at the table’s worn surface. “Let’s just play, okay?”

Rest of the evening Pryde and Logan idled with their card games. Piotr arrived back around 8pm and when a few hours later Nightcrawler found his way back with a big buff of purple smoke. In the dim lighted room only his clothes and yellow eyes were visible. Pryde looked relieved to see Nightcrawler back.

”I can smell that you have something good with you,” Logan noted to Nightcrawler, his eyes on his cards. Nightcrawler grunted and walked next to the table, pulling persimmons out from his tunic. He placed them carefully on the table on top of Pryde’s and Logan’s War spread.

“Where did you get these?” Pryde asked, inspecting one of the fruits in her hand. It was fresh.

“Find tree,” he replied casually.

“Was it in someone’s yard?” Logan grinned.

“Take a few only,” Nightcrawler said, offering one of the persimmons for Logan. “Logan not eat fruit?”

“Well, maybe one. I don’t need refueling the same way as you three do, so you share them with one another.”

Nightcrawler’s eyes were on Logan.

“Hear people talking of good fighter. Healing fast in fight ring. Was it Logan?”

“Oh, does my reputation already carry out on the streets?” Logan kept grinning, obviously somewhat pleased with his success in the arranged fight.

Nightcrawler smiled faintly.

“Logan beat everyone. Win lot of money and rewards. Many angry.”

“They really were!” Logan laughed, now extremely pleased with himself. “The looks on their faces when they weren’t expecting a pint size man to take their best fighters down. I had to run a few blocks and teach a few gamblers lessons on my way back here.”

“You didn’t tell me that…” Pryde muttered, annoyed. “Don’t get yourself in unnecessary strives, okay?”

“Don’t worry. I make sure no one gets too interested in your Nightcrawler,” Logan calmed Pryde down, turning his head to Nightcrawler once again, ignoring Pryde’s faint blush. “That’s my promise to you, my man. You all look after me and I will do my part watching your backs. No one gets to drag you back from wherever you came from when I’m around.”

An expression of something unreadable flashed in Nightcrawlers eyes. His mouth curved slightly downward and he hummed.

“Not that you’d be an easy catch, though.”

“Anyone trying to capture Nightcrawler is an idiot,” Piotr put in from his bed. “They would get whole team of Prydes after them and Pryde herself would tear the whole continent apart to find you.”

Nightcrawler blinked. He was a bit bashful of this sudden supportive attention he was receiving.

“You bet I would,” Pryde replied, finishing her first persimmon.

Nigthcrawler tilted his chin lower and smiled, face turned away from everyone.

“Danke,” he muttered bashfully and headed up to sit in the darkest corned with a persimmon in his hand.

The next day they left Bustani as soon as the sun was high enough for safe traveling. They made it to Dogo Bustani with ease and negotiated if they could make it to Lil’ Acasia if they hurried. While they were already a bit behind their original schedule a decision was made to stop in Dogo Bustani so that they would be at their best strength for the valley. It was better to rest in Dogo Bustani than in Lil’ Acasia. No one was against the idea, though Pryde apologized once more from Logan that they weren’t moving fast enough for his wife’s sake. Logan never mentioned how much he’d need to travel from Pryde’s HQ to his home and when Pryde tried to bring it up, Logan just grunted in a way that made it clear he was not up talking about it. Pryde expressed her worries that Logan was more than in a hurry to Piotr but Piotr simply comforted Pryde by telling they had done their best so far.

Nightcrawler kept his yellow eyes cast over Pryde as soon as he noticed the first hint of worry in her expression. Was this trip being too taxing for her? She had never leaded an expedition this long and never traveled through the valley for what Nightcrawler knew. He followed her like a shadow, ready to react to every wish or request she might give to him – whether verbally or with her expression. Sometimes she didn’t voice out her needs or problems but Nightcrawler had learned to read her expressions, postures, tones – something which had been useful to him with his earlier masters to keep him as safe as possible – and then he proceed to follow with whatever inner hunch he got from her. Did she need a drink? Food? A reassuring touch of a hand on her shoulder? A warm embrace to sleep in? His tail for fumbling something with her fingers to calm herself down? A looming sense of power watching over her just behind her back, ready to strike down anyone who dared to approach her in unwanted ways? Today, it seemed none of Nightcrawler could do would really help, as Pryde needed to mental rest. Things were restless at home so Nightcrawler assumed she wasn’t worried only for them but also for Illyana and the rest of the Prydes. There had been some fights and disagreements with other teams in the city. Some unhappy meetings with some of the residents. Lack of needed items. Lack of so many things.

That day, Nightcrawler found no way to comfort Pryde and he got a feeling she really wasn’t up to it either but needed some space. He slept curled into a ball at the floor next to Pryde’s bed in Dogo Bustani. She petted his head a little good night before she fell asleep.

Their journey to Lil’ Acasia was uneventful and they decided to that would head directly to the unnamed valley this time after without stop at the Acasia, as they had already rested well in the previous days. They got further along the narrow valley path than they had anticipated before the sun started to sink low and it was time to put on a camp site within a protective circle of the salt. Pryde asked the men to put on tents and a fire with the wood they had picked on their way from Lil’ Acasia into the valley while she proceed to draw the salt ring. The salt was running lower than she had anticipated and she did her best to measure that there was enough salt for tomorrow night, too.

The salt ring was there when the first sounds of the beasts of the night were heard from the dark distance.

The salt ring was there when the beast found their camp and surrounded them with their barks, snarls and howls, desperately trying to get in to feast on these travelers.

The salt ring broke. Slightly, but enough for a one werewolf sticking its long arm through the line, reaching out to everyone with its claws. Immediately Nightcrawler took his swords out and cut the arm off, teleporting away from the splatter of blood as the beast screamed and tossed in pain. But it didn’t help. The salt ring broke wider, granting an access to one wolf at time trying its luck with the group. Pryde paled.

“Piotr!” she yelled at her companion, who had turned his body into a metal form already. He wrapped a scarf tightly around his mouth and nose.

“I’m on it!” he yelled, taking a sword from Nightcrawler and rushing to stop the beasts.

“Is there anything we can do?” Logan barked angrily, just to getting stopped by Pryde’s outstretched arm.

“We’ll go if he needs help. Piotr is the only one who can take cuts and bites from them without getting infected. I will not let anyone of you to die,” she barked back, stern. Logan had no other option than curse and take a step back, his eyes on Piotr’s back.

The Russian colossus fought like there was no tomorrow coming.

“Get ready,” Pryde commanded Nightcrawler. He hunched lower, shoulders and upper back tensing, eyes narrow and sharp. He followed Piotr in an alerted pose, like a cat stalking a bird from its hiding spot. He was like an arrow ready to be shot at the command of his mistress. They all watched as Piotr beheaded and cut down every single beast which got through the opening.

“Now!” Pryde yelled as loud as she could.

Nightcrawler plunged forward immediately under the beast and Piotr’s sword. It was just now that Logan saw that he was carrying a small salt bag. Quickly Nightcrawler closed the broken ring, barely avoiding an angry swat of werewolf claws. Piotr finished the beast with a loud yell, chopping its head off with a one furious swing. The beast slumped down, blood spilling from its neck all around the place. Nightcrawler teleported away before even a drop of blood could get on him.

”Don’t touch it! If you get its blood or saliva into your system, you’ll leave no option for me but to cut your head off!” Pryde yelled at Piotr.

“I know, I know!” Piotr shouted back, tossing his sword away angrily. His fingers were shaking. With a groan he kicked the beast further away from them from a part of a body where it wasn’t bleeding from.

“I’d say let’s burn it, but the smell will suffocate us,” Logan grunted at Pryde. Nightcrawler wrinkled his nose, giving an eye to Logan.

“Smell bad,” he agreed, turning to look at the dead body with a stern gaze. “Nightcrawler smell it.”

“Trust me, I have needed to smell that, too,” Logan nodded, his lips pressed together. They didn’t share their experiences out loud.

Hastily Pryde run to Piotr with a canister of water. He took off his clothes, keeping his metal form, and poured the water all over him, washing away the blood. He declined Pryde’s help, taking a rag of cloth from her and wiping himself clean. Rest of the blood he wiped off with the smooth sand. When there was no blood left, he dressed into a simple tunic and trousers Pryde had gotten out from somewhere.

Pryde placed her hand on Piotr’s arms as he turned back to human form. 

“Are you okay?” she asked, voice trembling slightly.

“Yes,” Piotr replied shortly, taking then a shaky deep breath. “Yes.”

“I’m so sorry. This is my fault. I made the ring. I should have double checked that the salt was spread evenly,” Pryde sobbed. Piotr hastily turned to hold her.

“You did your best,” he said softly.

“And it almost got us—” she swallowed, shaking. “I’m the boss. You are my responsibility.”

“Da, but you are not our mother,” Piotr tried to cheer Pryde up. “I’m alive. Everyone is alive.”

“Nightcrawler, I put you into a danger, too, even when I made a promise that you’d be safe with me,” her head turned to Nightcrawlers, cheeks now moist from a few tears.

“Promise is keeping,” Nightcrawler said, walking to Pryde and Piotr. He gave a concerned hum to Pryde. “Nightcrawler help. It is the job for right-hand man, for Piotr’s and Pryde’s friend.”

Pryde sniffled with her head pressed low, then nodded. Nightcrawler patted her head and she let go of Piotr, sniffling once more. Logan handed her a piece of rag but Pryde declined it, wiping her eyes with her hand.

Rest of the night they listened to the howls and screams of the beasts, the same way they had listened them when they had been going towards Bustani. Only now, they sounded a lot angrier, even anguished, due the injuries of many and a loss of one of them. This time, Logan was able to doze off for fifteen minutes, which he was thankful for. Nightcrawler sat next to Pryde, keeping her under his arm with his tail curled around their feet the whole night. Logan couldn’t blame Nightcrawler for wanting to keep his eye on his boss; Pryde’s stare was almost glassy from exhaustion and no matter how far she tried to pull that hood of hers, it didn’t hide her dark circles under her eyes. She sat mostly quiet through the whole night, hugging her legs and resting her chin on top of her knees. Sometimes her head turned to lean against Nightcrawler’s shoulder – a gesture which always made Nightcrawler to double check on her – but not even once did Logan hear her falling asleep. When the sun got up, they said nothing. Just packed their stuff and took silently off towards Weusi.

The body of the fallen beast was left for the desert animals to eat.

Mentally, they prepared for a one more night with the beasts.


	9. Arrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's alive and happy to be out of the valley. The HQ of Prydes is almost at their reach.

By the time they reached Weusi they were completely out of the salt and the protective oil was almost running out, too. Pryde was dragging her feet despite doing her best to act brave and powerful. Nightcrawler squinted at Pryde when they reached the Weusi’s main street after the stony walls. He picked Pryde, despite her initial protests, up to a piggyback ride.

“You have not slept in two days,” Logan reminded Pryde when she was embarrassed for being so tired.

“Pryde not eat,” Nightcrawler added.

“I’m not really hungry,” Pryde murmured, taking a better hold from Nightcrawler’s neck. “Do we have money for a night in an inn, Piotr?”

“My treat,” Logan hurried to say, taking the lead of the group. He walked them back to the same inn where they had stayed last week and paid for a night. Pryde insisted on walking on her own two legs upstairs to their room. It was even tinier than the one they had had the first time.

“I’m sorry, I should be in a better shape as a boss,” Pryde sighed when Nightcrawler pointed her the bunk bed’s lower bed to rest in.

“Let your Hands to do your work while you rest,” Piotr said. Pryde looked unsure.

“The last two nights were tiring. You must be tired.”

“Sleep,” Nightcrawler told to Pryde sternly, pointing the pillow with his finger.

“Nightcrawler’s right. Rest and don’t worry about us. We’re fine,” Piotr smiled.

Two against one and Pryde had no other option than to gave in. She laid down, happy within that she had so reliable people around her and sad that she had put all of them in danger when she didn’t check the salt ring. She was relieved that the second night had gone well without incidents, even when they ran out of the salt and had to make sure they would reach Weusi before dark. She fell asleep almost immediately after closing her aching eyes. She slept till next morning, waking up when a tiny ray of the rising sun hit her face from a hole on the wall. She gasped, jumping up and hitting her head on the bottom of the up bunk. The sound woke Nightcrawler up and he peeked down from the bed above her.

“Oh no, the sun is already that high!” Pryde gasped, noticing now that the room was empty except for her and Nightcrawler. “We have already lost so much time. We have to go, Nightcrawler. I don’t want to get the blame for killing Logan’s wife because everything is---” she stumbled hastily out from the bed, dragging her thin cover with her and tripping on it. She turned on her back and kicked the cover, cursing loudly. Nightcrawler looked at her with a troubled expression.

“Piotr and Logan not here,” he said.

“I can see that!” Pryde snapped, teetering back on her legs with a hazy feeling in her head.

“Bring food. Then go.”

“Th—They went out to get food?”

“Logan help,” Nightcrawler said, jumping down from the bed and helping Pryde to toss the evil cover back to her bed. “Piotr worry. Nightcrawler worry.”

“I have no time for that, Nightcrawler. Logan is our client. His wife is our priority, he paid for it.”

“Pryde agitated,” Nightcrawler said, eyes locking with her eyes. She was taken back by the intensity of his gaze. “Calm down. Breath. All is well. Small delay.”

“We have had too many of those,” Pryde murmured. “Come on. Let’s take our stuff and go find Piotr and Logan. I need to buy salt.”

“Piotr buy salt,” Nightcrawler said, pointing at a bag on the floor. “Logan take mule back to its owner. We carry stuff.”

“It’s good. We don’t have much to carry anymore and we can stock up in Epesi if needed,” Pryde calmed down a bit, rubbing her temples. “I’m sorry. You are right. I’m agitated. The trip is taking so long. I’m still at the edge because of that broken salt ring. If anything would have happened to you or Piotr… Especially to you I---”

“It’s okay,” Nightcrawler quickly cut her off, pulling her into a hug. “Pryde breath. Pryde eat. Then we go. Carry Pryde’s items for Pryde.”

“No, no. It’s fine. Thanks.” She fell into a silence, hugging Nightcrawler tighter. “If anything happened to you, I would be so very upset and lonely.”

“Nightcrawler stay. Go home with Pryde,” he relied to her, smiling.

They headed out with their belongings, locating first Logan from a booth which sold hunting gear and then Piotr from a tiny table where he was playing dice with kids.

“We have to go. We’re behind the schedule already and I’d like us to get to Epesi today or we’re stuck in a salt ring one extra night,” Pryde told to Piotr.

“Sorry, children,” Piotr apologized, getting disappointed groans and moans back. He took his belonging from Nightcrawler throwing them over his board shoulder.

“I’m sorry that I slept so long. You should have wake me up. Now we have to walk fast so that we reach Epesi in time,” Pryde muttered under her breath. “And eat while we walk.”

“I’m fine with it,” Piotr said. “I ate already, so did Logan, right?”

“Yep,” Logan said.

“Did you eat anything after we left?” Piotr turned now to Nightcrawler, who hummed, tail whipping softly.

“Raisins.”

“That’s not sufficient enough for our day’s walk. Let’s get you and Pryde something to eat before we leave Weusi. There’s no lack of meat in this place so how about some day beast loin?” Logan asked grinning, looking like he had already located a booth which would sell them the best meat.

Pryde and Nightcrawler agreed with the idea and followed Logan to a narrow side alley which lead them to a bustling street of butcher and meat shops. He bought both of them lunches to go, saying it was a little extra compensation for this journey. Nightcrawler looked especially delighted about his lunch. Pryde thought he must have been hungrier than he had let anyone know. They embark to their day walk to the next destination together with their lunches and belongings. The walk to Epesi was uneventful but they had to run the last two mails to reach Epesi’s safety on time before the gates were closed for the night. Pryde leaned against her arms and panted.

“God, I was afraid we’d need to make a circle near the city and bring bad luck for everyone,” she swallowed, breathing out heavily.

“Teleport everyone,” Nightcrawler said.

“Yeah, you could have done that, but it would have weakened you for the rest of the trip. And in Epesi, we must be cautious, in alert,” Pryde reminded. Nightcrawler wrinkled his nose but said nothing in return. He knew she was worried for him.

“Aren't we going to your friend’s again, Pryde?” Piotr asked, wiping sweat from his forehead.

“Yeah. Meggan and Brian are reliable and will host us again. Let’s bring our own food and little some extra for them this time, too. I can cover that. I have saved money for this.”

They bought some vegetable and flour for gifts to Meggan’s and Brian’s orphanage and headed then towards their big old house. Nightcrawler walked close to Pryde and Logan kept his senses sharp in a case someone got too interested in Nightcrawler. At the orphanage, Brian came to answer the door, happily surprised to see the gang again.

“Pryde! You made it! You sons of a bitch, you actually made it through the valley!” he rejoiced, scooping a tired Pryde into a bear hug, surprising her. “Meggan! Look! Pryde is back with her men and everyone’s is still in one piece.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful new! Welcome back, dears! I was so worried for all of you, ” Meggan’s head appeared behind her husband’s shoulder, smiling motherly. “Come on in. And what’s that? Vegetables?”

“For you,” Nightcrawler said, holding the basket in his hold up to Meggan. Her face lit up.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have! Please, come on in. Children, again, no touching the blue man and his funny tail, remember?”

The children were disappointed to hear that this time Pryde’s gang had no animal with them for petting. Pryde returned the oil lamp Brian had borrowed back to him.

“Are you sure you won’t need this anymore?” Brian asked Pryde as he held the oil lamp.

“No. You have people here who need it more than we do. Thanks for borrowing it.”

“No offence, Pryde, but you look like shit. Piotr isn’t much of a sunshine either,” Brian noted but despite the choice of his words his tone was genuinely concerned.

“We run into some problems and haven’t slept much at all for two nights,” Piotr replied for Pryde, taking a seat near the gigantic kitchen table. “I might doze off any moment now.”

“Oh, then we must quickly make you some beds. Darling, can you and some of the kids get that tiny room cleaned? I think some kids have been playing in there and it’s in a mess,” Meggan asked over her shoulder. “I’ll make you some tea and supper quickly. Will bread do?”

“I’ll help with the food,” Logan offered. Meggan laughed.

“Thank you. There is a hose outside and some buckets would you want to wash yourself. The tank for heating the water is outside.”

“I’ll go,” Piotr stood up. “If I sit here any longer, I will fall asleep.”

Meggan asked some of the kids hanging around Piotr to show him where the heating tank was and how to fill it. It would take about an hour for the water to warm up which they could use for the dinner. Pryde and Nightcrawler stayed indoors, Nightcrawler’s eyes following the children and seeing no one could surprise him with some curious tiny hands. Pryde wanted to offer some help for Meggan but Brian was back from upstairs sooner than that and occupied the chair near Pryde. He wanted to hear how their journey had went since the day they had left their orphanage. Pryde shared as much as she could, concentrating mainly telling about how they had defeated a few werewolves just recently with the salt ring episode. Well, as well as she was able to with having children around. The partially censored story made Brian’s eyes glee with anticipation as he leaned forward to Pryde against his knees, listening every single detail, barely blinking.

“You have to tell me the whole story someday,” Brian said when Pryde was done. “When we’re somewhere more story friendly environment. Perhaps I’ll take you and your henchmen to a drink.”

“Him, too?” Pryde asked, pointing Nightcrawler. Both she and Nightcrawler wrinkled their noses. “I don’t like to show him off in Epesi.”

“I know but he’s safe with me,” Brian assured.

“Brian has… sort of a reputation here,” Meggan explained over her shoulder from the counter where she was making simple bread plates with Logan’s help. Brian shifted in his chair a bit uncomfortably.

“I’m not proud of it but it helps with the children and their safety,” he murmured, tapping his fingers together. “One gotta play what’s given to him in Epesi.”

“Yeah, this is exactly that kind of a city,” Pryde agreed. “Thanks for the offer. Perhaps we can arrange an evening for us all some other day. Now I just want to get my client back to our HQ and then to his home safely.”

“You worry too much for me, kiddo,” Logan grinned.

“For your wife, mostly,” Pryde corrected him, crossing her arms. “We are running behind our schedule already, so we leave tomorrow morning after we have rested. We’re almost at home.”

“Yep, the final stretch to do,” Brian smiled, leaning back in his chair. A relieved smile broke to Pryde’s tired face, spreading from ear to another.

“Yes. We’re almost at home. God, I hadn’t realized that. I was still so worked up with the valley.”

“No harm,” Nightcrawler smiled at her. He had climbed to balance on the backrest of the nearby chair. Brian’s head turned to Nightcrawler.

“Oh? He can speak?” he murmured, intrigued.

“Yeah, just not really keen into it,” Pryde replied, not feeling like explaining Nightcrawler’s whole story to Brian now. If she did, he would want to know all details and more information, perhaps to determine if there were kids to be saved in the place where Nightcrawler came from. Nightcrawler himself scoffed slightly at Brian’s comment through his nostrils and shifted in his squatting position.

Meggan invited everyone to gather around their sturdy but very worn kitchen table which took majority of the space in the low room. When everyone had eaten, they took turns outside to wash themselves with the warm water, behind a wooden fence Brian had put up to have more washing space for all the kids and the laundry. Pryde let the men wash themselves first. Meggan insisted Pryde that they would leave their clothes for washing but Pryde kindly declined, saying that they were almost at home and would do the laundry themselves at their own HQ. She was already looking forward to a bath with Nightcrawler, hoping the team she dispatched to get seawater had already finished with their task and Prydes’ tanks would be filled with washing and bathing water. But right now, she was thankful for the little wash basin of water and a soap bar to get the dirtiest parts cleaned before hitting the bed. She would sleep like a log this night; she just knew it from the way her eyelids felt line bricks made from granite. When she got back inside and up to the room which was again reserved for them to stay, she found Piotr already in dead sleep. Logan stirred awake when she opened the creaky door just to turn around and go back to sleep with a heavy heave and some inaudible muttering. His leopard fur was folded surprisingly neatly under his head for an extra pillow. Nightcrawler had took his tunic and headband off, too, and was sleeping on his side next to a bed for Pryde, which had been spread ready for her. Quietly Pryde walked to her bad and turned the oil lamp off, finding her way under the thin but warm cover. This time, Meggan had found somewhere a few pillows to them, one of them reserved for Pryde. It felt heavenly to lay her head down on the soft pillow after the two nights in the valley. Pryde didn’t want to think about it more. All had turned out well, but she didn’t like when things turned out to be too close calls.

Like in almost every night during this journey, Nightcrawler’s arm came around Pryde’s midsection and he sighed, eyes closed. Pryde gave him a pet under his chin and a long, lazy stroke on the side of his face over her shoulder. Nightcrawler settled in against her back and yawned.

“Good Nightcrawler,” Pryde whispered to him, getting a soft huff in return.

In that night, Pryde was yet again in a salt ring. It broke and the more she tried to conceal it, the more it broke apart. Her salt was running out too quickly. Her time was running out with tormenting speed. Piotr was already a werewolf, snarling at her from her left side, ready to strike at her throat. Logan had abandoned them long ago, saving his own skin to save his wife, laughing while he had left the Prydes behind.

And Nightcrawler. Her Nightcrawler. His lifeless body was already in the teeth of pair of werewolves that fought over his remains with loud howling and growls. She sobbed, and gasped awake when the paw of a werewolf took a hold of her shoulder from behind. Blinking, Pryde realized she was back at Meggan’s and Brian’s attic and the werewolf paw was Nightcrawler’s palm, shaking her gently.

“Pryde, bad dream,” he whispered to her ear, concerned.

“T-Thanks for waking me up,” Pryde mumbled, realizing she had cried in her sleep. Hastily she wiped her eyes and snuggled her head deeper into the pillow. Nightcrawler tapped her shoulder, gesturing her to turn to face him. When she did, Nightcrawler pulled Pryde against his chest and heaved, relaxing, into her hair.

“Pryde sleep safe,” he said quietly not to wake the snoring Logan and Piotr.

Pryde relaxed into Nightcrawler’s warm and soft embrace. He had seen so much horrible things and yet, he was always so kind to her. Treated everyone with respect in Prydes and kept his distance if he didn’t really see eye to eye with someone. Always so considerable and calm in his reserved quietness. Pryde felt her chest swell with happiness when she thought what a wonderful finding she had done in that horrible market square so many years ago. A real treasure in a world like this. She fell quickly back to sleep against her treasure, which only closed his eyes after he was sure Pryde was sleeping soundly and no bad dreams were pestering her anymore.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Goodbyes with Meggan were always more or less difficult and included a few shed tears. Pryde promised she would come to visit Meggan more often and find some time from her work for socializing, too. They started their journey towards home around mid-day – a lot later than they had planned but it had turned out they all were a lot more worn from the valley trip that they had thought – and Pryde felt herself hopeful. The trip had been a successful one, a one new merit for Prydes’ reputation. Secretly she hoped Logan would spread the good news on his lone journey back to his own home. They needed clients, supplies and money. The way from Epesi back to Prydes went through sandy pathways and big rocks, surrounded by wild fruit trees that were starting to bloom. From somewhere, an earthy smell of smoke carried in the wind.

“Someone’s having a barbecue,” Logan grunted, rubbing his nose.

“Is the smoke bothering you?” Pryde asked curiously.

“Nope. I just can’t smell the few flowers here and there. Too bad. There aren’t many flowers where I live except in my wife’s garden. Reminds me of home.”

“Your wife is a gradene---” Pryde began but her sentence was suddenly cut by a shot of an arrow. It came so fast from front right. It hit Pryde on her shoulder and she gasped, immediately phasing the arrow through, and seeking blindly Nightcrawler to shield him from an arrow. Logan pushed his claws out, readying himself. Piotr was in his metal form already.

“Keep Pryde save!” Nightcrawler commanded Piotr and teleported to the direction where the arrow had flown from. Logan didn’t stay behind either but run after Nightcrawler, surprisingly agile despite his short stature.

Pryde looked at the bleeding wound on her shoulder, cursing.

“Son of a bitch!” she gasped again, accepting a rag from Piotr to press the wound.

“Stay near me, boss,” Piotr said, standing in an alerted position, scanning the surroundings. “We could be flanked by two teams.”

“In all of the times, this happens now,” Pryde kept spitting, angry with herself. She took her anger at the arrow, stomping it in half with her bare foot. Her wound stung and burned, and to Pryde’s horror, it also seemed to bleed to much that it made her weak. She composed herself, doing her best to stay in phasing but suddenly she couldn’t get a hold of her knees anymore. She stumbled forward, her hand coming to take support from Piotr’s metallic arm. Piotr captured her before Pryde’s legs gave in.

“What the fuck…?” Pryde cursed, disoriented now.

“Come on, boss, stay awake,” Piotr shook her, but when Pryde didn’t react with anything else but an increasing weakness, which turned into a silence and half-closed eyes, Piotr quickly scooped her up into his arms.

Nightcrawler returned the scene, covered in blood. His eyes widened when he saw the half-conscious Pryde in Piotr’s arms.

“Pryde!” he called her, rushing to take a look at her face.

“Keep your eyes open, Nightcrawler. More criminals might be around,” Piotr said sternly, holding Pryde tighter.

“No more. All dead. Logan chase rest away,” Nightcrawler replied but didn’t take his eyes away from Pryde’s face. He patted her cheek, brows knit together. “Pryde? Pryde?”

Pryde replied with a mumble but couldn’t keep her eyes open. Logan joined them, slightly sweaty and covered in much more blood than Nightcrawler.

“Fucking slave poachers. Followed us from Epesi. They reeked like Epesi and smoke,” Logan spat angrily. His expression turned into a worried one when he saw Pryde. “Shit, is she okay?”

“Slave poachers use paralyzing poison…” Piotr swallowed, realizing slowly why Pryde was in such a bad state so quickly. Nightcrawler gasped, eyes widening.

“Poison for me. Slave traders hunt exotic blue mutant but got Pryde,” he growled, gritting his teeth together. “Pryde need help. Nightcrawler take Pryde to HQ.”

“No, it’s too far,” Piotr said but Nightcrawler shot a fiery stare at him.

“Teleport Pryde home! Poison for Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler bigger than Pryde, more muscle. More poison is more bad for Pryde!” he explained sternly. “Piotr and Logan safe. Come home but Pryde must hurry. Don’t want Pryde hurt forever or dead!”

“Me either, Nightcrawler. She’s our boss and one of my best friends…” Piotr said, swallowing again. “But that long journey can kill you. I know you have your limits. If we just run with Pryde we can--”

“Fuck limits!” Nightcrawler cursed with bared fangs. “Teleport Pryde! Final!”

Piotr measured Nightcrawler from head to toe.

“Okay. If you think you can do it, Right-Hand Man, take her. I trust you know you are doing?”

“And if you don’t, then what?” Logan asked from Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler took unconscious Pryde from Piotr’s lap and threw her over his shoulder.

“Then bad shit,” Nightcrawler grunted at Logan. “But try. Can do it. Teleport Pryde home.”

“Don’t get lost,” Logan called after Nightcrawler’s purple smoke.

Nightcrawler stretched himself. He had run errands to his previous masters by teleporting, doing many runs in one day and exhausting himself in result to almost a burn out but he had never teleported this far in one go. Not alone and especially not with another person to carry, which shortened the distance he could teleport anyway. But he was determined; he would do it. He would save Pryde even if it got him killed. Nightcrawler concentrated all his effort in locating Pryde’s room. Her bed would be the best place for her. His muscles ached and vision was getting dark as he stretched himself further and further, taking a tighter holder of Pryde to remind himself why he was doing this teleport of death. His heart bounded and muscles screamed but the didn’t give up. With a loud bamf-sound he was in Pryde’s room, nearly collapsing himself when his feet hit the Moroccan carpet. He quickly steadied himself and rushed to lay Pryde on the bed. It looked the same as when they had left but Nightcrawler barely saw it from his blurred vision. He needed to find Betsy. He ran to the door, swaying with his steps and seeing the doorframe stretched four times in his vision. He had to bring his hands up to find the right door and its handle while his heart was aching so much it was hard to breath. There was a clear taste of blood in his mouth and Nightcrawler spat on the floor to get rid of the substance from his mouth. He wanted to yell but couldn’t find his voice. Stumbling against the walls he hurried down the hallway when he ran to someone he couldn’t see clearly. His legs were shaking.

“Betsy,” he croaked, leaning against the wall. “Pryde hurt. Bring Betsy.”

“I’m here!” the figure answered, hurrying to take a hold of Nightcrawler. He smiled weakly with bloodied lips at the dark-haired woman.

“Betsy,” he was delighted. “They listen. Spirit help to find Betsy.”

“What happened? Where is Pryde?” Betsy asked, horrified of the state of Nightcrawler.

Nightcrawler took a hold of Betsy and took his final teleportation back to Pryde’s room, right to her bed. He let go of Betsy and fell on his rear end, panting.

“Poison… Hunters paralyze mutant… Arrow for Nightcrawler but hit Pryde,” Nightcrawler managed to tell before he had to crawl down to his side because he couldn’t see right anymore. Nor he could hear what Betsy was saying. There were sounds but they were distant. His heartbeat was louder than the muffled voice and he could hear how his breathing wheezed. Then, came the tremors, his legs and tail shaking. The taste of blood had only increased in his mouth and Nightcrawler was sure he was bleeding on Pryde’s wooden floor. She would be upset with it, most likely. His previous owners were always upset when he bled and ruined their floors, but he hoped Pryde wouldn’t scold him too much. It was hard to think. Someone knelt before him, but he couldn’t see or hear who it was or what they wanted. Probably asked how he was. Perhaps they thought he was poisoned, too? No. Pryde needed the medicine, not him.

“Te—leport… too much…” Nightcrawler found his voice for a second to inform whoever was beside him that he needed no antidote. They should give it all to Pryde. He couldn’t see anymore.

Someone else had probably arrived to him by now, or so Nightcrawler thought when someone touched him. Who was touching him? He didn’t like touching. Was it his old master? No, wait, where was he? Pryde’s place, yes, wasn’t it? He had teleported her home, hadn’t he? He wasn’t sure. Was it one of the Meggan’s children? Or Brian? The person was strong like Brian because they lifted his limp body up from the floor and carried him somewhere soft. A bed? It had to be a bed. Was he a good boy? Was he rewarded with a nice bed? He had teleported a lot, so he had to be a good boy, but masters were wicked and unpredictable. Or was he in the Weusi inn? If so, where was Pryde? He lifted his shaky hand to pat the bed, trying to mumble Pryde’s name.

“M—Maste---… Pryde?”

Someone took a hold of his hand and placed it on something warm and solid. Was this Pryde? He didn’t know and couldn’t stay awake anymore. He gave in and fell into the darkness that had long ago took his vision already.


	10. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goodbyes are always hard.

Pryde woke up with a major headache. It hammered her and hurt behind her eyes with a tight pressure. Her mouth felt dry like sandpaper. She moved her head slightly despite the pain and heard how someone shifted at her bed side.

“Kitty?” the voice asked and Pryde recognized it.

“Be—Betsy?” she managed to say despite her lips wanting to glue together.

“Oh, Kitty! You are awake! Lord, I was so worried!” Betsy cried, hovering over Pryde’s face. She brushed her brown curly bangs away from Pryde’s forehead. “How are you holding?”

“My head hurts.” she replied opening her eyes.

“It’s the side effect of the antidote. You got a hit of a poison arrow.”

Suddenly there was newfound vitality in Pryde. She gasped loudly.

“Ah, shit! I remember that! Where’s Nightcrawler, Piotr and Logan?”

“Piotr and Logan arrived an hour ago and are eating. Logan plans to stay here one night and continue his journey back home tomorrow. Both are unharmed.” Then Betsy sighed. “What comes to Nightcrawler, he’s just right there.”

Pryde turned to look at the direction Betsy was pointing at and saw Nightcrawler laying next to her in her bed, on his side facing her. The man looked like he had been gotten a heavy battering. Pryde lifted herself to sit up with the help of Betsy, eyes locked on the sick looking Nightcrawler.

“Oh my God! What happened?” she asked, fingers trembling.

“He teleported you here from wherever you got hit. I heard from Piotr it was pretty soon after you had left from Weusi.”

“My God! That can get him killed! What was he thinking?!” Pryde couldn’t believe her ears. First, she was angry. Angry that Nightcrawler had put himself in danger because of her. She didn’t know much about Nightcrawler’s teleportation ability, but he had told her he had a limit which he couldn’t cross. And now, he had clearly crossed it. However, Betsy’s soft voice calmed Pryde down.

“He’s your Right-Hand Man. He did what he was supposed to do and saved you.”

Pryde was quiet, feeling how her eyes were getting moist.

“My poor Nightcrawler…” she whispered sadly, running her palm along his face, neck and up to his shoulder and down his upper arm over the scarred tattoos. He didn’t react to her touch.

“He’s been unconscious for hours, but we expect him to heal. His heartbeat has calmed down and there’s no bleeding anymore from his mouth or nose,” Betsy explained, her hands on Pryde’s drooping shoulders. “Can I get anything for you?”

“I’d kill for tea,” Pryde replied quietly, still petting Nightcrawler. She noticed that Nightcrawler’s nose did have a hint dried blood in it.

“Tea coming right up,” Betsy promised, leaving Pryde’s bed. As she opened Pryde’s room door, Logan entered the room, confused to run to Betsy.

“Uh, um, I came to see if the ‘boss’ is awake already?” Logan explained. Pryde stretched her neck to see Logan better.

“Come on in, Logan. Do you want some tea? Betsy, bring tea for Logan, too.”

“No need to, thanks,” Logan declined the offer with an open palm, nodding to Betsy that it was okay to arrive with a one cup of tea only. Betsy left Logan and Pryde to speak. Logan came to Pryde’s bedside and took a stool nearby, tossing it underneath him.

“How are you doing?”

“Head hurts but that’s all.”

“And him?” Logan nodded at Nightcrawler’s direction. Pryde turned to look at him and sighed sadly deep from her chest.

“Unconscious,” she simply replied, running her hand over Nightcrawler’s side of a face gently. “My Nightcrawler. Always there for me even if it killed him. Idiot. But my dear idiot.”

“Idiotic friends and loved ones are the best ones. They would do anything for you, even the craziest things. That’s how much they care,” Logan smiled leaning against his elbows, and there was father warmness in his eyes. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s in a good care, I can tell that.”

Pryde chuckled shortly, caressing Nightcrawler’s short hair.

“Like you with your wife?” she asked finally, not looking at Logan.

“Like me with my wife. Like you with him, too, if there is a need.”

Pryde hummed, her head pressing softly down. She sniffled.

“Like me with him,” she agreed. Her hand left Nightcrawler as she turned to Logan, folding her arms on her lap. “I heard from Betsy that you and Piotr got back without issues.”

“Yeah. It was a kindergarten trip what it comes to the journey but damn, your Left-Hand Man was freaking out, hurrying that we should get here as fast as we could.”

Pryde smiled, nodding.

“That’s Piotr alright. The sensitive and worrywart Left-Hand Man. His intuition and sensitiveness are what I need at times besides his strength and metallic form.”

“He’s a good man,” Logan agreed without hesitation. “A lot better than me. But that’s a long story and I’m not going to bore you with that.”

Pryde got the hint. As she was about to ask more about the rest of the trip from Logan, Betsy arrived with a small tray with a cup of tea and some dried dates. She thanked her and waited for Betsy to leave until she turned again to speak with Logan. The tea mug in her hold trembled and Logan helped her hands to get steady again.

“I must thank you, Logan. This journey was success despite my own carelessness at the finish line. You were one of the best clients I have worked with,” Pryde complimented Logan, taking a first shaky sip from her tea which Betsy had cooled down into a right temperature.

“No complains on my end either.”

“I heard you will leave tomorrow?”

“Yeah, can’t keep the sick missus waiting,” Logan joked but Pryde could see that he was genuinely worried for his wife. Pryde hummed approvingly to Logan, her eyes traveling to Nightcrawler. Logan’s wide and rough palm landed softly on Pryde’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry for him. He smells alive. I have seen men smelling worse to get back on their feet. He’s just charging his inner batteries. You just pet his pretty little head and feed him some meat and he should be up in a few days.” Then he took a deep breath, frowning. “The smell of the smoke hid the smell of the poachers. I would have gotten them otherwise.”

“Epesi is a shit place for us mutants. I don’t know how Meggan and Brian make it with all the kids, but it must be the reputation of Brian Meggan mentioned,” Pryde muttered. She patted Logan’s palm. “Thanks. I trust your nose with this.”

“You better. It has never failed me,” Logan assured. He stood up from his seat with a soft groan, giving a one more look at Pryde. “If we don’t see after this anymore, you have my thanks. Thanks, boss. Look after your boys.”

“I will. Safe journey back home. Tell your wife I said hello and before you leave, find Ali. He will give you some seeds for your wife’s garden. A little memory if you please.”

A smile rose up to Logan’s lips and for a second, he looked touched. He composed himself with a cough and gestured his hand at Pryde and Nightcrawler.

“Like I could ever forget you guys.”

“If you happen to wander nearby someday, come to say hi.”

“Would Prydes’ need some work up north, let me know. Trust me. The message will reach Logan if you just send it out towards North.”

“Oh, you never told you are well-known,” Pryde noted. Logan only shrugged, chuckling with a raspy tone.

“You never asked.”

“Thanks, Logan. Travel safely. If you need water, take it with you and some salt. We have plenty of salt here.”

Logan thanked Pryde for a generosity and they shook hands. Pryde found the whole situation bittersweet, which was odd to her. She reasoned that Logan just hold a certain presence, like some people did. You meet them once and they stay in your mind forever. Judging how Logan’s eyes were forlorn despite his board smile Pryde assumed Logan was feeling the same. Now, she really wished she could meet his wife. A man like him must have had a very remarkable and wonderful spouse. Logan left the room without further ceremonies, leaving Pryde alone with Nightcrawler. She finished her tea, ate a few of the dates without really having any appetite and laid then back to bed. Her head was still hurting, and it took her a while to fall back asleep. While waiting for the sleep to arrive, she softly played with Nightcrawler’s hair. She fell asleep her palm on Nightcrawler.

When she woke up, it was lighter than when she fell asleep. Someone had brought her a tray with water and some food next to her bed. The tray teetered riskily on the small stool Logan had sat on. Judging from the way the sunshine in the room Pryde came into a conclusion that she had slept whole yesterday and the night. She thought it had to be a side effect either of the poison or the antidote – or both. She wondered if Logan was still in the building or had he left already. She kind of missed him. Piotr had probably shed a few tears when departing with Logan.

Slowly Pryde sat up and got surprised when she heard a faint groan from the other side of the bed. Nightcrawler was stirring awake, one of his eyes opening slowly. Pryde nearly jumped on him on all her fours, face close to his.

“Nightcrawler?!” she called him, getting a dry gulp as a reply. Nightcrawler turned on his back and licked his lips.

“P-Pryde?” he asked, unsure.

“Yes, I’m here,” Pryde replied, taking a gentle hold of Nightcrawler’s face. “How are you?”

“Pryde alive?” Nightcrawler muttered, trying to focus his tired gaze at her. When he saw Pryde’s face, he smiled weakly. “Good. Pryde well.”

“I’m fine, all fine. Thanks to you, you idiot! Almost getting yourself killed because of me!” Pryde hugged him tightly, burying her face into his fuzzy neck. “Idiot.” She sobbed, holding him tighter.

Nightcrawler croaked out a short chuckle and tried to hug Pryde back, but his hand just placed on her back. It still hurt.

“Sorry. Nightcrawler sorry. Pryde important, can’t let her die,” he mumbled tenderly, nuzzling his head against hers.

“Promise me you don’t do stunts like this. My poor heart can’t take it,” Pryde spoke into his neck, biting back a sob. “My poor Nightcrawler. My poor man.”

“Nightcrawler only tired. Much rest and all is better,” he soothed upset Pryde down. “Just tired but Pryde got poison. My fault.”

“No, no one’s fault,” Pryde’s head got up. She locked her eyes with Nightcrawler, frowning with a wrinkled nose. “Those bastards had them coming. Would they have hit you I would have---”

Nightcrawler’s cough fit got Pryde in guard. She reached out for the water jug that was on the tray and helped Nightcrawler to drink. He looked relieved after a few gulps, sighing.

“Wash?” he asked, pointing himself with his finger. “No; bath. No wash.”

“Yes, I’ll get you into a bath when you have gotten your strength back. We haven’t washed ourselves properly since when we left. I could really use a good soaking in the tub, if the seawater tanks are filled,” Pryde promised, putting the jug away. She stretched herself slowly next to Nightcrawler, drawing a line on his nose with her finger. “I’m happy you are here and alive. You got me really scared.”

“This is home,” Nightcrawler replied, trying to widen his arms to take the whole room in but he could move his hands only a bit. “Not go anyway. Stay here.”

“Good,” Pryde pooped his nose and reached then to place a small tender kiss on his forehead. “My Nightcrawler,” she whispered against his fur. He smiled, fangs peeking out between his lips.

“My Pryde,” he sighed, settling to rest under her arm as he fell back asleep.

There, he was safe and sound from everything and everyone. In the arms of his own Pryde. 

\- THE END -

**Author's Note:**

> Did you like it? How was it? Leave me your comment; even random keysmashing is appreciated! :3 Thank you!


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